Running
by kayono
Summary: West Shinjuku is blown to rubble, Takato's parents are dead, he is currently wandering around... somewhere, the government's ideas of keeping the Tamers safe from publicity isn't working... what's a girl to do? Rukato.
1. Leaving

wow... First fanfic ever... I FEEL SOOOO HAPPY!!!!!!!!  
  
Shila: What happened to those other fics that you write then?  
  
Kay: that's what happend when you get Corel Word Perfect instead of Microsoft Word.   
  
Shila: *blinks* you ARE hopeless...  
  
Kay: Whatever. Well, I decided to do a one-shot for my first fic, mainly cause-  
  
Shila: she's too lazy to make a commitment to write out a whole story.  
  
Kay: No, 'cause I don't want to have that on my shoulders... especially when I have exams comming up.  
  
Shila: Like, your geography exam is tomorrow, and your science on Friday? And you're supposed to be studying right now?  
  
Kay: he...he... what can I say? I can't study. Well, this fanfic is going to be kinda sad... I think...  
  
Shila: You have no idea what you're doing, do you?  
  
Kay: well...  
  
Shila: great, we're doomed. And THIS idiot beside me does NOT own digimon- thank God. They would have all died by the middle of the serries.  
  
Kay: WHAT?! I LIKE SAD, MAYBE DEPRESSING THINGS! Although Daneel Rush might have gone a BIT overboard with his "Tamers Forever" Serries...  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The young boy stood infront of the shed. It's walls were crumbling, thanks to all the abuse it had taken over the last few years. The iron gate infront of it was rusting, and hung off it's hinges.  
  
"Well... no turning back now..." he whispered to himself.  
  
The cold, January winds tossed his brown, messy hair around wildly, while his blue sweatshirt and grey shorts whipped around. His crimson eyes were steady, although if you looked close enough, you could easily see the fear they held. He turned to look back one last time at the city he had grown up in, protected with his life, and made great friends in. The city where his parents used to live. Before they were killed. Before it became a huge heap of rubble.  
  
He sighed with regret. The two people who meant as much to him as his old friend, Guilmon did. And now all three were gone. He wasn't able to protect them.   
  
Why?   
  
Because he was human. Just some damn human, who couldn't do anything right.   
  
And when he tried to do something?   
  
He ended up hurting someone.  
  
Well, no more. He was leaving this place forever, and he would be damn if he ever came back here by choice. He didn't want those few left that he cared about hurting. Yes, he put on a brave face in front of them, telling them that it was alright, that nothing was the matter, that they'd see their friends again. However, that all changed a week ago... the first large-scale emergency since the D-Reaper one year ago. Although it was more like a massacre.   
  
He remembered what the teachers had told him, and those few others who also had family living in West Shinjuku. They had said that a terrorist group had gone through that part of the city, caused wide-spread terror... the usual thing that terrorists do. However, they failed to mention the most important thing.  
  
Over 5, 000 people were killed by bombs, gun shot wounds, falling rubble- everywhere from the hypnos complex in the center of the city to the western border was now officially rubble. Everyone, killed.  
  
No one could understand why just that area, or how those terrorists were able to so easily wipe out a whole part of the city in less than half an hour.   
  
His friends had tried to comfort him, to no avail. He became depressed, hated everything- worse by far than what Rika used to be like. The other memories slowly made their way to the surface, ones that he didn't want to remember as well. Some would compell him to stay- others would make him want to kill himself. He close to doing the latter, but before he could, he needed to say good bye to the one person- well, digimon, actually- that would miss him. He had left a note for all the other Tamers at their homes, telling them all what he was going to do. Explaining his reasoning, so that Rika would actually have a real reason to call him 'stupid Gogglehead'.   
  
Although, now she couldn't really call him the last part.   
  
He grinned slightly to himself, as he ran his fingers through his now un-tammed hair. The goggles, which had once kept his hair at least slightly neat, were now sitting on Rika's bed, with a small, personal note just to her. For no one else's eyes.  
  
He hadn't noticed it, but he had been slowly walking towards the shed. And was now standing in front of the only way to see his friend, for one last time. He grabbed onto a small picture on a chain underneath his shirt, and hopped down into the hole. The hole that Guilmon had made. He brushed away a tear, and started to crawl forward on his hands and knees. The only thing stopping him now, where those few memories he cherished, when he was happy, if only for a month or so.   
  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*[Somewhere else]*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
She sighed as she walked down the street. The cars racing down the road beside didn't bother her- she was used to the high-speed, and always dangerous traffic. The people who walked beside her weren't what she would call friends- just aquantinces. The talked about not the latest fashions, or who the new hottest guy is- all their talk was about two things that somehow tied in together- the attack on West Shinjuku a week ago, and the newest skate park in the city.  
  
"Can you believe it?! A whole new skate park! I can't wait to go try it out! Maybe they'll use some of the extra rubble from Shinjuku to build it... maybe make some wicked ramps or rails for us to grind..."  
  
"Yeah... that would be awesome! Hey, Rika? Don't you have some friends or someone who live in Shinjuku?"  
  
Rika sighed. "Yeah... one of them... his... his parents... they were..."  
  
"Killed?"  
  
Rika only nodded. She remembered the Matsukis well, and how kind they had been the few times she had met them.   
  
"So... we heading to your house now so you can get changed out of the crap uniform?"  
  
"Yeah, we better... you two already have on normal clothes!"  
  
That made them grin. "Yeah... ya know, maybe we should go to the skate park right now..."  
  
"NO WAY RIN!"  
  
That made them laugh. The girl named Rin, her green hair whipping around her face, grinned, and imitated Rika trying to skate board in a skirt.  
  
The other girl, Leighya, cracked up, her long, blue hair moving gracefully in the wind, while the rest of her body shook.   
  
"HA! I'VE GOT TO SEE THAT!"  
  
Rika glared at them. "Not on your lives. Come on- we're almost at my house now. Let's move a BIT faster please? It's cold, in case you haven't noticed."  
  
"Actually..."  
  
"Alright, alright! Let's go!"  
  
Laughing the three made their way to Rika's house.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*[Somewhere else.. again]*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Aw, come on! One more game!"  
  
"No, Kazu. We should all be going home. And actually DOING our homework for once."  
  
Kazu griped, but collected his deck anyways. "Fine... but tomorrow, YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"  
  
Henry grinned, as did Kenta and Ryo, who were on the lower level of the play statue, where Takato first discovered his blue card. They hardly ever went near the shed anymore. It held so many good memories, but it still hurt to remember the fact that they might never see their partners again.   
  
"So Ryo... can you think of anyone who you might be taking to the dance on Friday?"  
  
"Nah... I'm not going. I don't want to ruin Henry's night of fun. You're taking Jeri, right?"  
  
Henry nodded, a slight blush stainign his cheeks.   
  
Kazu grinned widely. "So you and Jeri are an official couple, huh? When did this happen?"  
  
Kenta slapped his hand against his head. "Kazu, were have you been? They became a couple the day before... well..."  
  
"Come one, Chumly's not here! There's no reason to be so nervous about saying, 'The attack on Shinjuku'."  
  
"You know, that's like almost the headline that the newspapers gave the D-Reaper incident a year ago. What was it again? 'The Seige of Shinjuku'?"  
  
"Yeah... something like that..."  
  
"Do you get the feeling the something isn't right?" Ryo asked suddenly, re-entering himself into the conversation.  
  
"Yeah. Probably me just forgetting all my text books in my locker." Kazu joked.  
  
"Yeah... maybe..." Henry stated.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*[Somewhere else.. okay, it's outside Rika's house]*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Laughing could be heard down the street. And if you didn't see it, you would have never guessed who was laughing.   
  
"Rika! Come on!"  
  
"Not today!" The red-headed girl laughed, while racing down the street on three skateboards.  
  
"RIKA!!!!" Leighya yelled, as Rika got further ahead of them. "PLEASE *gasp* SLOW *gasp* DOWN!"  
  
Rika stopped suddenly, as when she turned the corner to the gate to her house, she saw a white letter sticking out of one of the cracks.  
  
"I wonder what that is..." Rin said aloud, as she and Leighya finally caught up.   
  
"I dunno... probably some taxes or something..." Rika muttered, as she walked over to the gate, leaving all three skate boards behind.  
  
She was about to just open the gate, but something told her that it was important that she read the letter. Her hand moved slowly to the letter, and she was about to take it, when a beeping noise from her D-Arc caught her attention. She pulled out the blue and white device, to her friend's amazement.   
  
"That looks so cool! Is that a new type of cell phone?!" Leighya asked hyperly. However, the screen, which had once been black, started to show a different aray of colors, before becoming static. Rika held her breath. She knew what static ment, and she hoped that nothing happened to Renamon.  
  
As quickly as the static had started, it stoppped, only instead of showing the normal black screen, a red symbol slowly pulsed on the screen. Rika felt the hair raise on the back of her neck.   
  
"What the-" she remembered this symbol from somewhere, but she could seem to remember it... until a voice echoed in her mind.   
  
[YOU CAN'T LOOSE, I WON'T ALLOW IT! DIGIVOLVE! DIGIVOLVE NOW!]  
  
She gasped when she realized what the symbol was, and turned to look at approximately where the park was. Her friends followed her gaze.   
  
"What's so interesting over there?"  
  
"Takato..." she whispered, "what have you done?"   
  
The two other girls looked back at her. "What do you mean? Who is Ta-"  
  
Rin never got to finish her sentence, as a huge beam of light surged up from the ground they were just looking at. The other two girls gasped, but Rika just stood there, paralyzed with fear. When the light died down, she almost expected the evil dragon, Megidramon to be in it's place. However, nothing remained of the light show, and Rika felt almost as if something important had been taken away from her.   
  
She whipped around, grabbed the white envelope, ripped it open, and quickly read through what it said.   
  
~Dear Rika,  
  
I hope that you won't be too angry at me. I can't blame you, though. Even to me, this is pretty stupid. I'll never see you again, mind. At least, not by my choice. I would have liked to stay, but this place just holds too many memories- most of them bad. It was cool getting to know you, hang out, fight... those are all my good memories. Fighting. We were always fighting, whether at each other, or with digimon. Everytime I think of happy memories, they always end up turning into fights. I hate fighting. So, as I said, I'm going to leave. You won't be able to find me, of course. I haven't told this to anyone else, but... for the last year, there was a digital gate in the hole in Guilmon's old shed. I don't want to leave you... but, as I said, I hate fighting. And I have a feeling that if I stay here, I'll want revenge. For my parents, and everyone else who died. So, instead of wagging a pointless war in the real world, I'll be fighting a pointless war in the digital world. Still, fighting, but there, I won't be afraid of dying... here, it would be too hard to die.   
  
I'll never see you again, so... Good bye.  
  
Sincerly, Takato Matsuki  
  
P.S. I'll say hi to Renamon for you. I'm sure she misses you. And... you can't really call me gogglehead anymore. I left a surprise in your bedroom.~  
  
Rika's eyes widened at what the letter said. She re-read the PS, and took off to her room, Leighya and Rin picking up the letter, reading it quickly, and following Rika into her room.  
  
When they got to Rika's room, they were surprised to see her on the floor, holding on tightly to something. Two somethings, actually.  
  
One was a blue band, that attached to two golden circles- a pair of goggles. The other was a note, writen on the same paper, and by the same hand, as the one at the front gate had been. They felt bad for her, but knew that they couldn't do anything to help her. Didn't mean they couldn't try.  
  
"Rika... what's wrong?" Rin asked, trying to comfort her.  
  
The red head threw the note at Leighya, and pushed Rin away from her.  
  
Both were surprised by her actions, but decided to read the note.  
  
~Well, that's my surprise. My goggles. Hope you make good use of them. And... I think I'm going to miss you the most. I'm not sure why... but Rika, please make sure that you take care of yourself, and don't isolate yourself again. As much as the whole 'Digimon Ice Queen' thing makes you look tough, it pushes away those who want to get close to you. Please, my dear Rika, take care of yourself... and the others. Do this... as a last favor to me. And I just realized now that not all my good memories were when we were fighting- my best memory? When we got back from the digital world, and everyone was happy. Especially you. I love you, and good bye.~  
  
Both the blue and green haired girls were surprised by this, but nonetheless went over to Rika and tried to comfort her again. Only to hear what she was muttering.  
  
"Damn Gogglehead... never thinking... why... what is so bad here? And... why would he... he..."  
  
Rin wrapped her arms around Rika, while Leighya hugged both of them. "Don't worry, Rika... everything will be fine... in time, it will be okay..."  
  
Rika tried to stugle away from them, but eventually gave up, and let herself cry as much as she could. She didn't want anyone to see her crying, but now was not the time to worry about her reputation. She missed him already, and, sitting there in the arms of her friends, she made up her mind.   
  
She was going to find the Gogglehead, and beat him to a pulp. Then probably kiss him.  
  
She clutched the goggles tighty, remembering all the times that he had yelled at her, comforted her, or fought with her- against the enemy, of course.   
  
Rika eventually stopped crying, only to be questioned by her friends about what the Gogglehead had mentioned in his notes. Rika, trying to keep her emotions in check, answered them all semi-willingly, to the exclamtions and MORE questions from Leighya and Rin.  
  
They had somehow managed to come up with as many questions as there were adventures, and the whole question-answer thing went on till past when Rika's mother and grandmother- who were both out shopping after Rumiko's latest photo shoot. They also read the notes, and also broke down in tears. Leighya and Rin gathered that this Gogglehead was an important part of this family- even if he wasn't born into it.  
  
Both Rin and Leighya left the house only when their parents called them- by this time, it was well past 10 pm, and they had school tomorrow. "We'll see you tomorrow, Rika... hope you're feeling better by then..." Rin stated, with a quick hug from her and Leighya for Rika.   
  
Rika stared at their retreating backs, until they turned a corner, and dissapeared from sight. She looked up at the moon, and whispered, "Gogglehead? Where ever you are, no matter what you're doing, I WILL find you... you have my word on that..."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kay: wow... now I'm wondering if I should commit to writing an actualy story, and not just a one-shot... even WITH this screwed-up computer of mine.  
  
Shila: either way, I don't really get this. you started off writing like a maniac, having to go back over your work after ever few words, 'cause you were typing so fast there was almost 3 errors per word. And then you took a break to actually study, then eat brunch, then back to hear and reading that weird story about Forte, Rock and Blues... and in the middle of it all you kept typing this story... I think that you should just turn everything else off except for the music and just type.  
  
Kay: I would, but I get REALLY bored with the whole "just typing" thing. I guess that's why I kept getting in trouble in BTT...  
  
Shila: *groans* He-lp... me....  
  
Kay: *turns to see Shila getting attacked by Tialsia* nicely done T. Still working on the whole fighting thing?  
  
Tialsia: Of course!!! ...what?  
  
Kay: will you be my muse?  
  
Tialsia: sorry, I don't do hair products. *still strangling Shila*  
  
Kay: *sighs* no, as in.. of, forget it. Give me some ideas for stories, sil vous plait.  
  
Tialsia: *blinks* what's with the french?  
  
Kay: Stupid Ms. Violo. French teacher?  
  
Tialsia: oohhh... well, as I'm about to kick THESE two of the computer, since they've been on since 8 this morning, and it's almost 4 now... R&R! Flames, reviews, cheapest places to get a good Microsoft Office program-  
  
Kay: and should I continue this story?! We- meep! *looks at Tialsia, who is dragging her away from the computer* NO! THE STORY!!! THE MUSIC!!! THE-  
  
[Song of the Chapter: (can't say day, cause I don't upload and write that fast) Sadame (Destiny) by X TV OST! Get it from KaZaA today!] 


	2. School Problems

Kay: Short authors note!  
  
Shila: What?  
  
Kay: another chapter to my one-shot! Do the disclaimer! *gets out bo staff... after she finishes whacking Enzan and Blues one more time with it* Now.  
  
Shila: FINE! Kay here does NOT own digimon... she does own Rin, Leighya, Heiya, and all the other random people that you have not seen in the third season. She kind of owns the plot, as this certain type of story seems to show up a lot in this category. Anyways-  
  
Kay: shut up, let's get on with the story!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The barren landscape around him looked more like home than where he was born had looked for more than a week. Even though this was only his second day, he was already beginning to get a feel for the land. It helped, of course, that he hadn't run into anything wild that would try to kill him, but he knew that his luck wouldn't hold out for long- it never had in the past.  
  
Defeat an enemy? A stronger one would show up in no time. Defeat that one? Terrorist attack. Try to tell someone how he felt about them? Find out it was NOT her, and then get shot down. Yup- the only lucky thing that had happened to him in the last little while was not getting killed on impact.  
  
It had only been lately that he had realised that he was just going to throw his life away- and although that did seem like a pretty appetizing idea, it wasn't the smartest thing to do right then. He needed to say good- bye to his partner, at least.  
  
The data streams swirled around him, and began to close in, as though they were daring him to choose one of them. He grinned slightly, and let one take him in its grasp. Even though he no longer had a death wish- not for now, anyways- he didn't quite care where he ended up.  
  
In his eyes, anything was better than the desert that he had just been walking in. Closing his eyes, wanting where he landed to be a surprise, he slowly felt his body become almost weightless and the bright pink glow of the stream slowly but steadily faded into black.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rika stared out the window of her class room. She had been reluctant to get out of bed this morning, and had to be pulled out of her room by her mother. She had hardly eaten anything, her resolve of the night before to find Takato forgotten.  
  
Her teachers and classmates did not notice anything wrong- staring out the window at the city below was a usual habit of hers. However, now the city skyline had no appeal to her- just the small patch of green so far away, where she knew was the key to her problems.  
  
And so, because of the semi-normal attitude that she had, no one except Rin and Leighya knew that anything was bugging her. And even they weren't too sure that anything was the matter- until about halfway through English.  
  
"Now... who wants to read the next part of the story? Hmm?" The teacher asked. Her eyes scanned the class in front of her, none of them wanting to read, and looking fearfully up at her. However, she saw one student that did not meet her eyes- she, in fact, wasn't looking any where near the front of the class.  
  
"Ms. Nonaka? Would you care to read?"  
  
Rika turned her head slowly towards the front. She met her teacher's steady gaze not with the usual ferocity, but a blank stare that, needless to say, creaped her teacher out. She was used to trying to make Rika do her work, with many protests, arguments, and detentions, but not an uncaring Rika, who did not seem to even be alive.  
  
"Ms. Nonaka? Is something wrong?"  
  
Rika shook her head slowly. "No... nothings wrong." The monotone voice startled the teacher even further- and proceeded to make the rest of the class turn their attention to the red-headed girl.  
  
"Well, then... would you please like to read?"  
  
Rika glanced down at her novel, which was still closed. "Why?"  
  
This was much morel like the normal Rika Nonaka. "Well, young lady, it is quite simple-"  
  
"Not why I should read, you old hag," Rika retorted quickly.  
  
"Then why what?"  
  
It was about then that Rin felt that Rika did not need to say more. "Um... I'll read, Ms."  
  
The teacher looked from Rin to Rika, deciding whether or not to drop the subject. Finding it far more nerve-calming, she let Rin continue with the story.  
  
"'No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't understand. My life had been so good, and then it just blows up in my face. It was then I realized that I had to make a choice- I could deal with what was happening, and move forward, or I could just dwell in the pit of my self-pity, and never let anyone get close to me again.' Continue, Ms.?" Rin asked, thinking of how ironic it was that they should be reading this part of the story, just after... well, Rin nor Leighya had any idea what happened, other than it was important to Rika.  
  
"Yes, pl-"  
  
Ring  
  
"Never mind, class. Please finish reading this chapter for homework. Good afternoon."  
  
The class proceeded then to clean everything up, and move out of the classroom, joining the throng in the corridor. Rika slowly grabbed her things, and waited for most of the class to leave before she started to move towards the door. Rin and Leighya were waiting for her outside.  
  
"Rika, WHAT is wrong with you? I understand... well, some things, but not much else. What is going on?" Leighya practically yelled at Rika.  
  
The red head only shrugged. "It doesn't matter, really... I think... I..."  
  
"Yes?" Rin asked impatiently. "You think what?"  
  
"Well... I think that I-"  
  
"That you what, Nonaka?"  
  
Rika, Leighya and Rin turned around to face a group of girls which stood behind them. At the front stood Heiya, the one who asked the question, and the unofficial leader of the group.  
  
"Aren't you going to answer the question, Nonaka? Or are you just going to stand there, just like the wimp you are?"  
  
"Lay off, Heiya." Rin said stubbornly.  
  
"Why should I? Since you two are sticking up for the Ice Queen, I can only assume that she's lost her nerve."  
  
A small smile crossed Rika's face then. She remembered what she had done to Heiya the last time that the older girl had bothered her. Heiya's nose had healed in record time, but Rika, although her punishment had been severe couldn't help smiling- it was just a bit before that incident that she had become not only friends with Renamon again, but also Takato and the rest of the Tamers.  
  
It was this small smile the caught Heiya's attention. "What are you laughing at, Nonaka?"  
  
Rika looked up at Heiya, and couldn't help but break into her first smile in days.  
  
"Just remembering..." then she thought of Takato again, and she, once again, became crest-fallen, "I... *sigh* never mind."  
  
"What, Nonaka? If you have something to say..."  
  
Rika just shook her head.  
  
"Why don't you just leave her, and us, alone?" Leighya shot back at Heiya.  
  
"Wow... I'm SOOOOO scared... watch it, punk, or I'll get those guys who laid waste to Shinjuku, TWICE, to come over here and get you... I know who they are, and how they did what they did...."  
  
With that, Heiya and her followers walked away. Both Rin and Leighya were looking worried- they wouldn't out it past Heiya to do something like that- everyone in their school knew that she had 'contacts', but no one would ever think that she would say something like so loud and obviously.  
  
Rika only shook her head. She didn't know who or what destroyed Shinjuku- she could bet anything that it wasn't just a terrorist attack, since the government had lied to the rest of Japan, and the world, about the first attack, and most people had believed them.  
  
She smiled slightly as the three walked towards the cafeteria. "She doesn't know... I bet even the government doesn't know..."  
  
"Doesn't know what?" Leighya asked, sceptically.  
  
Rika looked up at her two friends who were staring at her. "Nothing... never mind..."  
  
As they sat down at their usual table in the far corner by the windows, both other girls looked over at Rika. After their encounter with Heiya, both expected Rika to have completely lost it... but, instead of her usual, brooding, anti-preppy self, the Rika sitting with them was calm, collected, and thinking hard about something.  
  
"Rika... what are you thinking about?" Rin asked, slowly.  
  
Rika only shook her head. "Nothing, nothing..."  
  
"Is it about... him?" Leighya put in, trying to keep her voice down from the many eaves-droppers that seemed to like to spread gossip.  
  
Rika nodded slightly. "You know... what Heiya said... she doesn't know who blew up the city... and the first time... it wasn't even humans..."  
  
Both Leighya and Rin thought for a moment. That was the most that Rika had ever talked about her past, or about the attacks on Shinjuku. Everyone in the school knew that she lived around there, where the attacks were. Many of the other students had thought about teasing Rika that those attacks were all her fault- but then tossed that idea away as soon as they thought of Rika's fist meeting their stomach.  
  
About to move onto how boring French was, Rin realised something. "Rika... what do you mean... that it wasn't even humans?"  
  
"Simple. It wasn't. I would know. I was there, as I know that everyone's been dying to tell me." They noticed that her voice got slightly stronger, as though trying to hide some emotions that were making their way up. "And it wasn't the government that got rid of the supposed terrorists. It was-"  
  
"Was who?"  
  
Once again, Heiya startled the three friends, and made Rika shut up immediately.  
  
"You say it wasn't humans. Then who was it? Obviously wild animals couldn't blow up a city!" She got a few laughs from her group, and those people around who were listening in.  
  
"It's none of your business. And it would do you good that you don't keep lying and say that you know who did that, because you don't even know what it was."  
  
Heiya scoffed. "Oh, yes... then if it wasn't terrorists, what was it? Can you answer that?"  
  
It was about now that Leighya decided to speak up. "Maybe you should be asking yourself the same question, Heiya. It doesn't matter any more- it was in the past. Now, how about you leave it, and get out of our faces?"  
  
Rika turned to her friend. "Leighya... thanks for standing up, but... it does still matter, and there's a very good reason why."  
  
"Aww, does the little bitch want to tell us what's bothering her?" Heiya taunted.  
  
"Wow, you have some colourful words in your vocabulary... too bad that you have no idea what's happened to me, or some of my other friends..." Rika retorted. "Bitch."  
  
"I would love to tell my friends- but, other than Rin and Leighya, I don't see any of my friends here."  
  
"Other than Rin and Leighya, you don't have any friends!" Heiya retorted.  
  
"How would you know? Just because I hate everyone else in this God-damned school, doesn't mean that I don't have friends elsewhere- of course, why would you care, since you've got those 'terrorists' wrapped around your little finger."  
  
"..." Heiya didn't say anything to that comment, although it was obvious that she was working on a retort.  
  
Rika stood up suddenly, turned towards the door, and walked away from Heiya. Most of the cafeteria was quiet due to the little 'discussion', and quickly cleared the way for Rika to get to the doors. Once there, she turned around, and told Heiya, "When ever you can come up with a decent diss, please feel free to come and bug me on the roof."  
  
Rika stalked out of the cafeteria, and, as one could only assume, to the roof.  
  
Heiya rounded on Rin and Leighya, fuming.  
  
"What is up with her?! Its like she's constantly PMSing... only worse than before!!!!!!!!"  
  
Leighya did not want to be the one to tell Heiya about Rika's little... problems. But it was obvious that Rika's two friends at the school were not going to get out of this one that easily. Leighya opened her mouth to say something, but Rin beat her to it.  
  
"Rika's been having some... problems..."  
  
Heiya scoffed. "Yeah, I can see that, smart ass. Would you like to tell me what kind of problems?"  
  
"... not really..." Leighya piped up, not wanting Rin to say anything more than what she needed to.  
  
Heiya glared at them. "I will find out one way or another, and it's your choice how I find out... either you can tell me now, or I'll beet it out of you, or someone that might know..."  
  
Both girls gulped, but stood their ground. They themselves did not fully understand the true reason of Rika's sudden... mood swings, and they were in no mood to start spreading rumours about something that they themselves did not understand.  
  
"Well...?"  
  
"I'm sorry, but..." Rin stopped, realising what she was saying, and quickly corrected herself. "Actually, I'm not sorry, and I'm not going to tell you, no matter how much you threaten me, okay?"  
  
Heiya stood there, shocked. Then she proceeded to following Rika's foot steps out of the cafeteria.  
  
Rin and Leighya looked at each other. "Think we should see what's up with Rika?"  
  
Leighya nodded her head. "It's all that we can do..."  
  
Those two then followed Heiya out of the café, and quickly proceeded up the stairs, towards the roof.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rika looked out at the city. From her vantage point, she could see much more than she could from her class room, a couple floors below her. The fact that the school was built on a kind of bluff helped the view, which Rika was glad for.  
  
She was sitting down on a bench that had been placed there by the edge of the roof, which was fenced off by... what else, a fence, so that no accidents could possibly happen.  
  
She could see the Hypnos complex easily, and all the rubble that stretched from it to as far as she could see West-ward. Everywhere else, she noticed, was completely normal, like a whole part of the city hadn't been totally destroyed and thousands killed.  
  
In the middle of all the rubble she saw the area of green where she and her... acquaintances hung out. Where the shed was. The shed that she could picture so clearly in her mind, but always with two other... creatures in front of it. She couldn't help but sigh as the picture flashed before her eyes, with the young goggle head in front of the shed, his dragon partner beside him, eating bread....  
  
She immediately turned her mind away from such thoughts. For those only led to more hurtful memories, especially ones where she could remember where she had hurt, emotionally or physically, the young man who was now lost to this world.  
  
She hated the way that he had said good bye, that stupid note, it made her feel as though she wasn't good enough for him to say goodbye to face to face... but, her only consolation was that he left a note for the other Tamers, and she was not the only one not deserving of such a poor goodbye.  
  
She did not want to think about such trivial things. She would keep her promise and still treat the Tamers, and her other friends, as... friends, but she would become the D.I.Q again to the rest of the world. He had opened a part of her that she had once considered a weakness, and now that he was gone, no one was making an effort to keep that open.  
  
She hated not being able to do anything about what was bothering her, and there was only one reason why-  
  
"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid Gogglehead!"  
  
As she continued her little rant, her voice got slowly louder. She had learned one thing in her year or so of knowing the brown haired, crimson eyed boy- she could always count on him, and he always seemed to be able to see them through all the hard times, even if he just rushed in without a plan, and only hopes and dreams.  
  
She stared again at the green area in the middle of the rubble.  
  
I wish that I could find him again... and... and at least say thanks, for everything that he's done.  
  
The wind began to blow stronger than before, and she threw her words onto it, hoping that they might reach her beloved friend... maybe more than a friend, but she would never admit that.  
  
"Gogglehead... Takato, where are you? Why did you leave us here, with no idea what's going on... what's happening?"  
  
Little did she know that those words were the very thing that would make her join the young man in his destiny....  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Heiya, Rin and Leighya sat/stood behind the slightly opened door to the roof, which faced Rika's back. They had heard the few words that she had uttered, and were confused as to their meaning.  
  
"Who is this... Takato?" Heiya asked her two accomplices.  
  
Leighya and Rin looked at each other for a moment. They both remembered the notes that Rika had found on her doorstep, and in her room, and what had happened just before she had opened the note outside her house.  
  
"We... heard her mention that name last night..."  
  
"Right before that huge beam of light went into the sky from the park..."  
  
Heiya looked at them sceptically.  
  
"Really... so you think that this Takato guy has something to do with that beam of light? I'm sure that everyone knows about it by now... it was on the news. All the scientists in the area have been speculating on what it was... even those top guys at Hypnos can't figure it out. I say that they're idiots... there's those HUGE towers in the middle of the city, doing nothing! It's useless."  
  
To that neither Rin nor Leighya could respond. To find out what Rika meant, they would actually have to ask her, and neither was up to do so at the moment.  
  
Heiya sat there, back to the door, her eyes not moving from the other two girl's faces. "What? What is soooo important that you can't say? Don't tell me she swore you to secrecy. If I knew what was going on here, I would gladly tell the whole world! I guess that she's," Heiya threw her head back a bit over to indicate Rika, "too scared."  
  
Both Leighya and Rin had scared looks on their faces, and were staring pointedly right at her.  
  
"What? Seen a ghost?"  
  
"You will be if you say anything." came a voice from behind her. Heiya turned slowly around to face Rika. Normally, Heiya wouldn't be spooked like Rin and Leighya, but not only was she not among her followers, but she had never had a direct threat to her from the Digimon Ice Queen.  
  
As Heiya thought about that, she realised something and snorted.  
  
"Why do they call you the 'Digimon Ice Queen'?"  
  
Rika glanced at the slightly older girl, before replying in a threatening voice, "I was the BEST at the Digimon card game... and I highly doubt that you could so better than me at that. Actually, I doubt you could do better than me at anything...."  
  
Heiya took this as an obvious insult. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I couldn't do better than you at anything? You name it- make up, shopping, clothes designing-"  
  
"Not THAT kind of anything, Heiya." Rika retorted quickly. "Things that other people who know nothing about anything could do... people like T-"  
  
She stopped suddenly, before finishing her sentence. Then, she collected herself again, and continued: "Kazu and Kenta. Those idiots couldn't even play their way out of a paper bag- that is dry. Can't believe they actually got partners...." She mumbled that last bit, like an after-thought. However, Leighya, Rin and Heiya caught it.  
  
"Partners? What do you mean?" Rin asked, confused.  
  
"Yeah, what-"  
  
"Shut it. Ignore what I just said. It doesn't matter anymore, the past sucks and is totally pointless, and what happened last night just proved it." Rika said quickly. Hearing the bell from a couple floors below them, the red-headed Tamer pushed past the other three girls and made their way downstairs.  
  
"Um... what just happened?" Leighya asked.  
  
"I have no idea... but I'm glad that she didn't decided to use us a punching bag for spying on her..." Rin commented lightly, as they headed down the stairs.  
  
Heiya turned to them before they got to the bottom. "Do you know anything else?"  
  
Both girls looked at her uneasy. "Why should it matter to you?" Rin asked, unsure.  
  
"Because, whatever is bothering Rika is something big- and I'm sure that it all has to do with what she said about that guy named Takato. For her best interests, I say we find out what it is, and help her."  
  
Still the other two girls looked nervous, and Heiya was quick to realize why- she, out of all people, were looking after Rika? They were practically enemies!  
  
So, knowing that if she did not leave immediately, Heiya turned to go to her class.  
  
"I'll give you tonight. See you tomorrow!" she called over her shoulder, and, pushing the door, entered back into the crazy world known as 'school'.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Now... who can tell me what happened in 19-"  
  
"The United States dropped a bomb on Hiroshima, Ms." Rin responded, with a quick glance at Rika.  
  
"That is correct... now, since it's the end of the day, please pack up quietly, and wait for the end of the day's announcements."  
  
Just as the teacher said those words, the strange buzzing sound (which scared half the class) sounded, and right afterwards came the announcements.  
  
Rika sat through most of them, until the principal made a quick, last minute announcement: "Tomorrow, there will be no school- however, you must all still come to your homerooms, and from there we will leave for the ceremony that the government is holding in memory of all those who lost their lives in the attack last week. All are welcome to bring flowers, presents, or sentiments, or you may sign up today at the Hypnos building to give a small speech tomorrow. I hope to see you all tomorrow- NO SKIPPING!"  
  
As the buzz sounded to release the students from their prison, Rika grabbed her things quickly and headed out the door. Rin and Leighya followed automatically.  
  
Not saying a word, Rika made her way quickly towards the city's center, and Hypnos. She had a million things running through her mind and did not respond to her friend's questions.  
  
She was sure, however, of only one thing.  
  
If we really can make a speech, I'm sure that Brainiac at least would be there. Maybe even Puppet girl, Dumb and Dumber, maybe even Mr. Perfect- they all go to the same school, after all. Takato would have left them notes, too... they would know how to get him back...  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kay: Well, this has been fun!  
  
Shila: fun? How do you describe "fun"? Me sitting here watching you for the last few days writing a senseless story? It was good as a one-shot... why can't you leave well enough alone?  
  
Kay: ... that was the most that you have ever said in one go.  
  
Shila: ...  
  
Kay: well, I trust that everyone... slightly enjoyed the story? If not, please give me your thoughts, opinions- to make it shorter, reviews, Cakes (good reviews to me!) and Flames are more than welcome!  
  
Shila: ...Aren't you going to do the reviews?  
  
Kay: Yes! Now shush! Also, please excuse the stupid Word program I am using- it automatically capitalizes everything at the begging of a sentence or paragraph. Even if I ask it not to.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Calu-Calu: as you can see, I am continuing. Thanks for the review!  
  
Drazen_Flames: I might do that, but because of certain stories that also have that in the plot line, it would have to be done in a totally different way- which I suck at. Thanks!  
  
Snea: Wow... short review... well, thanks anyways!  
  
DAPSTER: I LIVE FOR ANGST! THE MORE, THE... okay, not merrier, but better!  
  
L33t M4st3r: *blinks* Thanks for the review... but... I don't do commands. Hey, if it humours you: "Yes... master..."  
  
Annon. 666: Yes... a soft Rika... now THAT was never in my vocabulary. But thanks anyways... your review was greatly appreciated!  
  
Hillkid: Another short review. But, hey, a short review is better than a long one that serves no purpose than to remind people of something they ALREADY KNOW! Oh, if you don't get that, please take a look at the story called something like, "Help from a man in a Knight Suit". Awesome story.  
  
Azereath: O_O ... your unholy arm of the night? Sure... anyways, thanks for the review! Hope you get soon!  
  
Tamer of Light: dude, this was my first fic EVER. Oh well. Thanx for the complement! I think it was a complement, anyways...  
  
Blitz Blazer: wow... thanks! Yes, I know... a four word review is kinda weird, but if you can put all your emotions into that, then I can too! I think...  
  
Darkness4ver_fades: yes, there will be more than one more chapter! Well, that was this one, so I'm pretty sure that by now it's obvious that there will be more... nemh.  
  
Neverwhere: Chaos Mode: Thankies very much! I like OCs, if only because they can add a new dimension to the story that wasn't there is the original. Yes, Rika is a little out of character, but if you keep so close to the original, it becomes VERY repetitive... especially when mostly everyone else does almost the exact same thing. YOU SHOULD UPDATE MORE!!!!!!!!!  
  
Tamer of Chaos: wrath... that's a funny word. Anyways, thanks for the review!  
  
Eden and Black Mage: hhhhmmm... I don't know why I just said that. *_* Thankies for the complement (as I'm sure that is one... I think). Ja!  
  
DigiDestined of Courage: hehe! Well... Takato won't be exactly fighting a war... but, as I keep saying in my other stories, everything that I'm writing now are all preludes to a whole big mess that I'm planning to write soon.... But you got the right idea! I think... well, thanks!  
  
Qtajake: why, merci!!!!!! Tu est tres... aw, forget it. I suck at French. Anyways, I was saying that you are a REALLY good writer as well, and that I thank you for your support (yours was the second review, and helped me to continue!) Thankies VERY much!  
  
And last but not least...  
  
Thalian: My FIRST review... ever! You should be proud... and your review is the one that actually started me thinking to continue! I very much appreciate your review, and hope that you will continue to be there as a faithful reviewer! And as soon as I get around to reading your stories, I will become a faithful reviewer of yours as well!  
  
*****Note: Desperately need a beta reader. No one in the msn group "The House of ARCHANGEMON" wanted to be mine. I think. Well, if anyone would like to Beta read either this story, or "Secrets of the Undernet", which is a poor title for that story, please email me! Thankies! 


	3. Why the shed is evil

A shadow moved gracefully through the clouds over the great, green plains of Server of the Eastern Quadrant. Actually, the clouds appeared to moved with it, constantly hiding the form from view, until it descended among a group of odd-looking... creatures.  
  
"Let this council of the Sovereigns come to order."  
  
The huge flaming bird, known as Zhuqiaomon, flexed his wings, obviously aggravated.  
  
"You called this meeting, but you are the last to arrive. We have been waiting patiently for the last-"  
  
"I know that I have kept you." The new figure, a huge blue and white dragon, said quickly, before starting with what he had called this for.  
  
"My brothers, there have been problems in the Southern Quadrant-" Zhqiaomon grumbled "-NOT because of our brother's incapability to govern his Quadrant, but because of the situations in the human area. They have been able to draw out those that we have to protect from their world to the human world, to do harm to certain areas. They are not partners, nor do they have any respect. We must find a way to stop this."  
  
The other three Sovereigns around them nodded their agreement.  
  
Seeing their assent, the Azulongmon continued.  
  
"Also, another problem, which used to be a solution. The effects of the program to counter the D-Reaper on the Tamer's partners have finally worn off. But... I wonder if we should still go through with transporting them back to their partners."  
  
Two of the other Sovereigns gasped in shock. The Tamers were the only protection that the Southern Quadrant had. If they were to be without their partners for any longer...  
  
Zhuqiaomon shook his head roughly. "They need their partners, as much as I hate those human loving-" he stopped himself before he finished, seeing the looks that the other Sovereigns gave him.  
  
The giant turtle with two heads, also known as Ebonwumon, was curious. "Why would we not give the Tamers their partners back? Why withhold them? They belong together!"  
  
Azulongmon looked at Zhuqiaomon. "You have not told them your little... dilemma?"  
  
Zhuqiaomon growled low in his throat. "What was I supposed to say!? I have my most powerful Tamer? I think not!"  
  
That was a shock to the other two Sovereigns.  
  
"What do you mean that you 'lost' your most powerful Tamer? You've been boasting that it was the Ryo, who's originally from the Eastern Quadrant!"  
  
Azulongmon looked at the fire bird questioningly. "I see that you have not said anything of recent developments..."  
  
Baihumon decided then to speak up.  
  
"I do not understand what you are talking about... perhaps you would care to explain?"  
  
The dragon looked over at Zhuqiaomon, who had a HUGE stress sign on his head, before saying what the fire bird did not want to admit.  
  
"We had decided to compare all the Tamers, to see what one would be best if the Chaos attacked again. The ones with the ability to biomerge had the greatest power levels, and synch rate. It came down to Ryo Akiyama and Takato Matsuda for the most powerful Tamer- and because of the way that Takato's partner came into being, added with the fact that they were able to biomerge without a digivice, proved that they were, are, and always will be, the most powerful Tamers."  
  
After letting that sink in, Ebonwumon asked, "but... what do you mean that you lost your most powerful Tamer?"  
  
"There was an attack on West Shinjuku a bit over a week ago. Thousands died, including Takehiro and Mie Matsuda. After he went into shock, he made a radical decision- he accessed the digital gate to the Southern Quadrant. However, he disappeared into a data stream, and hasn't been seen since."  
  
The other two Sovereigns rounded on Zhuqiaomon. "And WHEN were you planning on telling us?! Without adequate protections in one Quadrant, all the others are in danger!"  
  
Although Zhuqiaomon did look guilty, he did not stand down.  
  
"I do not regret not informing you! I have been trying to let them live a normal life, so that they do not have to come HERE again! And I'm sure that if you found out who the new most powerful was, you would want to test your own best defenders against his metal!"  
  
Both Ebonwumon and Baihumon looked guilty at that- of course they had wanted to.  
  
"So... what should we do now?"  
  
"Be on your guard. If you find him in your Quadrant, immediately send him back to the Southern. We cannot force him- his tie with his partner is strong, and we do not need a repeat of Megidramon."  
  
A shudder ran through the group at Azulongmon's words. Although not one of them had been able to witness it, the story was well told, and yet kept secret, amongst the Tamers.  
  
"So it's agreed?"  
  
They all nodded, and then proceeded back to their Quadrants.  
  
"I just hope that we're not too late to save him...."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"BRAINIAC! PUPPET GIRL! MR. PERFECT!"  
  
The three aforementioned people winced as they heard the call echo throughout the building. They were standing in front of the front desk, registering to do a speech the next day about the latest attack on Shinjuku.  
  
They turned around quickly so that they did not attract any more attention- since they were Tamers, they were treated much better than anyone else in the crowds that currently filled the lobby of the Hypnos buildings. They had all agreed that only those who already knew about the D-Reaper would be allowed to know about it- no one else was supposed to. So, pretty much everyone in West Shinjuku, which was now a considerably smaller percentage of the city's population, and only a few select people living outside the city- namely, Government officials. It was to "protect and hopefully let the Tamers live normal lives". So, Rika making such a big commotion, coupled with the fact that only a few others who didn't work at Hypnos knew who they were, wasn't too great a situation.  
  
"Rika! We're over here!" Jeri called out, if only to silence her before she started calling out their names again.  
  
Rika slowly made her way through the crowds towards them, as well as two other girls who were trailing her. She greeted the Tamers with a face that made Jeri wish with all her heart that Takato was still here to do something stupid to at least make Rika smirk- which was as close to a laugh as the D.I.Q. every got to laughing in public.  
  
"Hi Rika... are you signing up, too?" Jeri asked tentatively.  
  
Rika almost snorted- if she wasn't about to talk about something that she felt was really serious.  
  
"No, Puppet girl. I was wondering... did... anyone else hear anything about... Takato?"  
  
By the looks on their faces, it was obvious that they had heard... but wished they hadn't. The whole group was silent for a moment, before the two girls who had followed Rika through the front doors finally caught up to them.  
  
Jeri, seeing that as a good excuse to lighten the mood, asked Rika, "so Rika... who are your friends?"  
  
Rika turned around to see Rin and Leighya standing behind her, slightly out of breath. "The blue haired one is Leighya, and the green haired one is Rin. Rin, Leighya, this is Puppet girl, Brainiac, and Mr. Perfect."  
  
"Also known as Jeri Katou, Henry Wong, and myself, Ryo Akiyama." Ryo said with a smirk, "the Digimon King."  
  
"It's very nice to meet you. By your uniforms, you also go to Rika's school right?" Jeri asked sweetly.  
  
Rin slightly grinned. "Yeah... they're the worst uniforms in the world, though... so... you're name is... Jeri?" The brown-haired girl nodded. "Nice dress."  
  
Jeri blushed slightly, but then turned to Rika.  
  
"So... you're not signing up... and we could easily talk anywhere else... I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are you here at Hypnos, Rika?"  
  
Rika was about to say something, when she was interrupted by the people behind them in line.  
  
"What are you doing here then?! If you're not here to sign up, then move out of the way! And you shouldn't have even just jumped to the front of the line! ...insolent kids..."  
  
"Is there a problem?"  
  
The calm, cold voice startled everyone in the room, as they looked up to the new second floor balcony above the lobby. There stood two women in jump- suits and a man between them. He had blonde hair, a black suit, and some black sunglasses perched on his nose.  
  
Rika growled in her throat, imitating a cat's hiss.  
  
"Yes, sir! These children just jumped to the front of the line, and they aren't even signing up! Can't you please order them out of the building?" The man who had complained before now almost begged the blonde man.  
  
"We're sorry, Yamaki. We weren't quite finished when Rika and her two friends came up to us... we'll be going as soon as we finish." Henry spoke for the lot of them- it was common knowledge to many people that his father worked tightly with the head of Hypnos, and many other government organizations.  
  
The blonde man, now identified as Yamaki, nodded, and turned to the crowd. "We'll all try to get around to everyone. We thank all of you for being willing to share you thoughts, feelings, and giving small memorials to those who lost their lives. Please be patient." He said those words with such a cold voice that it made some people wonder why people would want to work with him.  
  
Rika simply stared at the other Tamers who were there, who had returned their attention to her.  
  
"What?"  
  
Jeri shook her head. "Rika... please don't do anything... drastic..."  
  
"Yeah... it would suck to be a King without a Queen to rule by your side!"  
  
That earned Ryo a quick punch in the head. "Stuff it, Akiyama!"  
  
"Ow! Rika!"  
  
"Um, Rika... was that really necessary?"  
  
A glare was Rin's only answer.  
  
"Never... mind...."  
  
"Mr. Wong? Ms. Katou? Mr. Akiyama? Here are your confirmation slips."  
  
The group turned around to face one of the secretaries behind the desk. She was holding out three pieces of paper to them. Henry and Ryo took theirs quickly and got out of the way (Ryo slightly limping and holding his head), but Jeri blushed lightly and replied, "there's no reason to call me Ms. Katou. Jeri will be just fine."  
  
The secretary nodded to show that she understood, and Rika, Rin and Leighya followed them out of the line, and into a back corner, where they could stand and watch the crowd without anyone noticing them.  
  
"So? What's the plan?" Rika asked impatiently.  
  
The other Tamers there looked at Rin and Leighya, but Rika quickly 'explained'. "They're some of my best friends. They'll find out soon enough."  
  
Jeri, Henry and Ryo considered that for a moment, before they all nodded their consent. "All right."  
  
Rin and Leighya were about to ask what was so secretive, when Rika asked again, "What. Is. The. Plan. Brainiac?"  
  
Henry looked once more at Rin and Leighya before responding. "Yamaki and the Monster Makers have been trying to figure out what that light show was last night. Although... if even Jeri (no offence) got that symbol on her D- Arc, then I'm pretty sure we all know what it was. The fact of the matter is that we have no idea where, how, or why It appeared here."  
  
The way that he said the word 'it' made the other two girls picture it with a capital I.  
  
Rika nodded. "Jeri? Any ideas? You were one of the closest, and knew him the longest, and even though Dumb and Dumber, I think, know him just as well, but they're not here. So...?"  
  
"I can only think of one thing- his parents dying last week. Well, that and what happened a year ago...."  
  
There was silence among the group as they all remember what had happened. Even Rin and Leighya, although not quite understanding the importance of that silence, remained quiet.  
  
Shrugging it off, Jeri sighed. "I... I guess. It would be enough to send anyone over the edge. I... just wonder if he though it through... but there's nothing that we can really do now...."  
  
Rika growled. "Well, we can at least try to find a way to find him... or even just track down whoever was responsible for last weeks massacre." When the others looked at her strangely, she glared at them. "What?! We have the BEST team of scientists in Japan, and they owe us, big time... besides, if it wasn't for the Gogglehead, then we probably wouldn't even be here!"  
  
There was no way for anyone to doubt what she said. Rin and Leighya, finally getting annoyed with not understanding a second of what was going on, were quick to jump in then and ask, "What... do you mean?"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
He had never thought of constantly floating in a huge beam of green light could be so peaceful. Get over the shock of no sense of gravity, no food, no nothing other than the light and your own self, and not being able to control where you were going, and it was so relaxing. The only problem in his eyes was that the light was, as already mentioned, green.  
  
When he had first opened his eyes after getting stuck in the beam, the first thing he had noticed was the color. Shouldn't it have been pink? Or that red-ish color? But, after realizing that it could not , and would not, do any harm, he began to think about what he had done.  
  
Of course he wasn't regretting his hasty decision. The only thing that he did regret was not saying goodbye to his friends properly. But, there had been the chance of them talking him out of running off- what was he saying? There wasn't a chance- it was a definite thing!  
  
So, instead, he had left them all notes explaining at least what he was doing, and, in one case, where he was going. And how he was getting there. And- he realized that he might have put a bit too much in that one note.  
  
[Chicken thing!!!!!! ...okay, I'll stop now... on with the story! ...again]  
  
He began to wonder what would have happened had he stayed. Probably not cause them to worry so much... although who would worry since his parents died was his guess. He was sure that the Tamers would try to find him at first, but give up and continue on with their normal lives, as though there had never been a Takato Matusda in their lives.  
  
And, he had made it pretty clear in his notes that he did not want to be found.  
  
But he still wondered whether anyone would remember him. Even if he put his past behind him, he still had ties to it, and cutting those ties, for him, would be unthinkable. Yes, he wanted to distance himself as much as possible from West Shinjuku of the Southern Quadrant, and yet...  
  
He shook his head. There wasn't anything he could do now. The only way that the Tamers had originally escaped from here was the Arc, which was now a part of his partner's data. There was no going back. Even if he wanted to leave, he was sure that the Sovereign would not allow him, if past events were any indicator.  
  
But that was the problem- the past. It was a plague, something haunting him. If he could start anew, with a new family, new friends...  
  
He stopped himself in mid-thought. That would mean never knowing Henry, Rika, or any of their partners... never knowing Kazu and Kenta, never having a small crush on Jeri, never slightly hating the annoying Ryo Akiyama. There would have been so many things that he would have missed out on, but the most important one was the one thing that truly kept him from ending his pain, and launching his soul forever into the unknown world that humans called the afterlife.  
  
The picture that he had first drawn of his saurian friend, the one that his old D-Arc had scanned... that was what kept him there. He had created his partner, unlike the others, with a dream, a notebook, and at least a couple Digi-gnomes.  
  
He had loved his partner through think and thin, but he couldn't help trying so hard not to say his name. He had remained strong. Before his partner, Guilmon, had left, he had never cared about being strong. But the moment that the final gate closed, he saw how the other Tamers were so close to going insane, or doing something stupid. He had realized then that although his bond with Guilmon was stronger than the others with their partners, that if he acted strong, then they would feel they must, too.  
  
So, he had never again mentioned his partner's name aloud. To do so would break the thin wall that he had placed to block all the emotions that he could not show. The others looked to him for (who would have guessed?) a strange sort of guidance, and none had ever done anything since regarding the D-Reaper, the Digimon, and everthing to do with those without talking to him about it first. They trusted him, even if they hated showing it.  
  
He felt relieved that he would at least live on in their memories- it would obviously feel weird to do something about anything digital without his confirmation, or at least his feelings spoken, on it.  
  
He began to feel tired. He had felt that a lot lately, since he had left his world.  
  
As his eyes slowly closed, and he drifted off to sleep, he could only smile as some of the better memories since the D-Reaper resurfaced in his mind.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Rika, Henry, Jeri, Ryo, Rin and Leighya all walked slowly out of the Hypnos buildings. They were clueless as to what to do, since it seemed that there was nothing to do until the next day, during the ceremony.  
  
The Tamers had decided to tell Rin and Leighya the total truth, and sentenced them to secrecy. By the looks on their faces, it seemed that there was going to be no problem with that for a little bit- both were so shocked at finding out that one of their best friends was responsible for saving their lives at least once, and the fact that she was no longer completely flesh and blood.  
  
As they neared the park, Rika began to walk a bit quicker. Something was pulling her towards the shed where they had hung out at so often just a year ago. The others, noticing her sudden rush, also began to quicken their pace, and gradually catching her impatience.  
  
Rika arrived at the shed first, before stopping quickly, and turning around to wait for everyone. "Hey! Could you possibly run any slower?!"  
  
They came, panting, into view, before also coming up short. None of the Tamers or those with them wanted to go anywhere near the shed. The still remembered everything that had happened here... and no one wanted to trespass on what they considered sacred ground.  
  
Rika took a tentative step forward. She instantly felt what she considered to be an evil presence, and quickly stepped back.  
  
"Rika? What is it?"  
  
The red head turned around slowly, and address Jeri.  
  
"Jeri... just quickly... come here?"  
  
Jeri started to walk towards Rika, but stopped as she felt what Rika had. She paled immediately, and backed away much quicker than Rika, and crashed right into Henry.  
  
"Th... that is... no... there's no... how...."  
  
Jeri was quick to faint after uttering those words, and Henry stayed back to comfort her. The rest of the group started to move forward, before they, too, felt the strange aura.  
  
"What... Rika, what is this?" Rin asked, unsure.  
  
They all stood there, revelling in the extreme, evil power that surrounded them. Rika, being part of the mega level shaman, was the first to pin point the source of the strange power. She quickly walked over to the shed, and put her hand over the gate.  
  
"Here... this is..." she yanked her hand back, suddenly recognizing the energy source, and felt the same fear that Jeri had course through her. She stared, wide eyed, as the invisible aura became visible.  
  
Bright red, it seemed to coat everything within a 6 foot radius of the shed, which, if Rika could actually look at it, was shinning brighter than the sun, but ultimately much more... red. Stumbling, she backed up so that she almost fell on top of Henry and Jeri.  
  
"Rika? What is it?"  
  
She found herself unable to speak, and finally felt what the young girl (whom she had almost squashed) behind her had felt every time she had ever looked at one Takato Matsuda.  
  
An unimaginable fear, stemming strictly from the nature of one to want to live and protect itself.  
  
"Rika? Are you okay?"  
  
She dimly noted that she was shaking. Her whole consciousness was strictly on the feeling that had seeped into her bones, her very being. She didn't feel the pain that shot through her as she collapsed, nor when her head hit the ground.  
  
As Rika Nonaka, the D.I.Q., every strong, powerful, and unbeatable, finally joined the girl beside her in unconsciousness, she couldn't help but smile lightly as she realized, and took on, some of the burden which the goggle- headed Tamer had carried since that fateful moment just over a year ago, which had forever since plagued Jeri Katou's mind, and which, now, was soaked into her so thoroughly that she knew, without a doubt, exactly where the creators of this great phenomenon were.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Ta-dah! Another chapter actually finished... I wanted to leave it at a cliff hanger, but I hate doing that... besides, I can't seem to do one of those properly!  
  
...If you're wondering where Shila is, then please refer to "The Zelda Song"'s authors notes.  
  
Now, I should get on with the reviews! Few as they were...  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Blitz Blazer: Yes, you did get a mention, and now you get another one! As you can tell (I hope), I was able to happily write this chapter in a bit less time... I dunno how long, but I'm pretty sure it was shorter. As I think I've explained, somewhere, I'm writing this at school with it's Microsoft Word, since those idiots at Future Shop don't know the difference between Microsoft Office and Corel Office, so I shall update asap. I'm pretty much basing the language on the gauge of what I hear around me, and no, I do not live in... too much of a ghetto area... no offence to those who do.  
  
Gtajake: Please ignore the stupid program! The fonts look all messed up, so I'm sorry for typing your name wrong! I would love to have you as a beta reader! Next chapter's yours to beta read, meh friend! And once again, I am sooooo going to try to update a lot quicker. Good luck with your stories!  
  
Thalian: I'm sorry! I was going to review, but my computer got even more messed up than usual... the printer's being stupid, again. Anyways, at least start a new story if you don't want to continue the one that you're working on now! Ja!  
  
Bloodykitsune: and here is the next chapter! Hehe!  
  
DigiDestined of Courage: Question, can you have a longer name? Sorry, needed to say that. I will happily make Ryo get many more Rika-bashings... not that I don't like him or anything... hehe... *scratches back of head*. Well, I probably won't be able to momenai for a while, since my stupid teachers seem to like giving 20 projects at a time. Oh well. Thanx for the review!  
  
Rukato86: yes, it was a good idea. But I still want to do a Rukato one- shot, if only because it's so fun to smush everything into one chapter that could take a whole story! Well, thankies very much!  
  
Neverwhere: Chaos Mode: is it just me, or do people like really long names? Excuses are actually what I want to hear- I need some more for why I don't do my home work. The whole, "omigod, I left my work in my locker that's across the road in Main on the third floor, and I don't want to cross while it's pouring" excuse isn't working all that well anymore. What I've noticed is that mean/evil people ALWAYS have an ulterior motive for helping someone, no matter who they may be. I just needed some conflict at school originally, but now that I've set the thing with Heiya up... be prepared for a cat fight!!!!!  
  
Sari: Thank you soooo much! I shall keep that complement forever... I hardly get any, anyways (stupid teachers...) well, merci beu coup pour revue!  
  
Khita: haha! I love yours, although I'm not sure if you're taking longer to update than me, or if my whole concept of time is just wwwaaaayyyy off. Well, thankies very much for the revue! Ja ne!  
  
Marshmellow13Dragon: nope, there's no way that I'm gonna let Takato any time soon. That would just be stupid of me... but then again, I am, but... grr, that's beside the point! Well, thanks very much, and I'll try to update again as soon as possible!  
  
Himitsu the Hunter: Season 3 was the best season, and always will be! Unless, if the rumours I have heard aren't true, the next season has something to do with the Tamers... but I doubt it will. Besides, those rumours are that the creators have gotten lazy, and have stopped working on the series- forever! AAAHHHH!!!!! Okay, I'm done. Ja!  
  
Peter Kim: There is something to be said for writing a fanfic... it's that YOU CAN CHANGE THE PLOT AND WHAT HAPPENED IN THE STORY!!!! MUHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! FEEL THE SUPREME POWER OF MY GREAT AND INFETESIMAL POWER!!!!! Which would be even more powerful if I learned how to spell properly. Now, yes, the whole thing with Rin and Leighya learning the truth slowly I had though about much... but I quickly realized that I needed to put them first stunned, then on edge, so that they don't realize as quickly as others would what was happening. So, a nice, quick explaining thing here, which will end up like how Kazu and Kenta reacted towards Takato for the first time. Hehe! Thankies anyways for your insights and opinions!!!!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Okay, I'm not sure if people realized, but you ARE allowed to flame me. Not that I don't like them, but too many compliments are gonna go to my head within seconds. Well, I need to go. Ja ne!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Song: Making my way (any way that I can) by... I forget her name, but it's from the Pokemon: The first movie soundtrack (I found it the other day after it being lost for a whole friggin 3-4 years, and have been listening to it ever since). 


	4. The next daylmorning thingy

_Darkness.__ That's all that was there. It was her air, her ground, everything. She tried to turn around, only to feel as though no matter where she went, there was no sense of up or down, left or right- as though there was nothing._

_'Is… this…death?'_

_Before she could answer herself, or start to go on about all the weaklings that would feel her wrath were she to find out that they were responsible for this void, a strange, greenish light penetrated the darkness, enveloping her and the small area around her. Within it, she saw a dark shape that was quickly moving closer._

_She had no idea why she moved when and how she did, other than the fact that she just needed to get to the dark spot. _

_As she tried to make her war forward (she had no way to tell if she was other than the dark spot coming closer- and even then it could just be it moving towards her), the old saying "go towards the light" ran through her mind, and she smirked- it was slightly hard to move towards a light when she was surrounded by it._

_She was about to scream in frustration as it started to look as though the dark shape was moving away, when she felt the hairs stand up on her neck. Turning around, she was ready to faint- the darkness, seeming to be more menacing then ever, had been following her. _

_She felt like she was a stick that someone was holding, and dragging through the surface of calm, green water- only that the disturbance had become pure, total and evil looking darkness._

_Fear griped her soul. She felt herself slowly being once again surrounded by darkness, the product of her fear of a number of things that she had suppressed over the years- but mainly the feeling the loosing a loved one. Just before she felt herself drifting into oblivion, she heard a voice that she recognized echoing in her mind, forever haunting her dreams,_

_"Hear your spirit, your desires… the darkness may show you your fears, but only your soul may show you the truth…"_

**{}BACK TO REALITY...{}**

"Is she awake?"

"How would I know?! I'm not a doctor!"

"Well, the least you can do is get out of the room and let her rest!"

Rika groaned in her sleep. The voices were very close, and they were bugging her.

She rolled over, trying to escape from the loud symphony of noise so close to her ears.

"She just moved!"

"Yeah, so, you act like it's a miracle."

"Well, it is, since-"

"She needs her rest. We shouldn't wake her up...."

"Is that her mother speaking or the doctor's advice through her mother?"

"...."

"Well, if she wants to go to the memorial service tomorrow, then we should let her get some rest."

There was silence for a moment, which Rika was eternally grateful for. However, silence, she knew, could not, and would not, last, especially around her- whether or not she was the cause of the noise.

"Henwy! Why awe we hewe? Whewe is the angwy kid?"

"Suzie, not now. Rika needs to rest!"

"But I wanna talk to the ANGWY KID!"

There was a drawn-out sigh. "And what do you need to talk to Takato for, Suzie?"

"Well… I saw his funny swhape the otha day, Henwy! And thewe was a big beam of light…."

Rika could easily feel the tension in the room as Suzie said those few words, even though she was unconscious. Just mentioning what Suzie called the angwy kid's swhape"- the Hazard sign- made everyone relive exactly what had happened one year ago. Rika heard Jeri gasp, and she herself was, for some reason, reminded of the dream that she recently had.

Another voice, Rumiko, entered the conversation again.

"Suzie, dear… what IS Takato's shape?"

Another dreadful silence filled the room, which Rika promptly broke by moaning- it seems that she must have gotten hit in the head a few times between the park and where ever she was now.

"Rika! Oh, Rika dear, are you okay?"

The red head slowly opened her eyes to find her mother looking down at her, worry etched on her face.

"I… I'm fine, mom…"

Rumiko sighed, as did mostly everyone else in the room.

"Thank God, Rika… we were so worried! I woke up almost an hour ago- it's 11:30 pm." Jeri said happily.

Rika blinked, as she sat up with her mom's and grandma's help. "Then… why are you guys still here?"

Jeri smiled kindly. "Well, we couldn't just assume that you were fine, when you certainly didn't look it!"

Rika groaned as looked around- the whole remaining Tamers team was in her room, some (Kazu, Kenta and Ryo were actually on the porch outside), and Rumiko, her grandmother, Jeri, Henry, Suzie, Rin and Leighya were all crowded within the room.

"Can't a girl get a little room to breathe?"

Everyone apologetically backed away from her, giving her more room.

Rumiko stood up, after making sure that Rika was fine. "Thank you everyone for coming here to make sure that Rika wasn't seriously injured by whoever or whatever caused her to become unconscious…" the Tamers remained silent- Jeri had told them what it felt like, and they did not want to think about their missing comrade, "and I think that now everyone should go home. However, if you'd all want to stay over for a sleep over…"

"YEAH! SLEEP OVER AT RIKA'S!!!"

Rika sighed as Kazu started dancing around, dragging Kenta along as his partner. Ryo only grinned, while Jeri, Henry, Rin and Leighya thanked Rumiko for her generosity.

Suzie simply walked over to Rika and sat down beside the older girl, and whispered to her, "Why wewe you so swad?"

Rika almost grinned at the way that the little girl spoke, but, knowing her reputation, kept it hidden with a scowl.

"I'm not sad… just… depressed…"

Suize grinned. "Then let's play Pwincess Pwetty Pants to help you cheew up!" And with that, the youngest member of the Tamers (okay, she's the same age as Ai and Mako, so sue me!) dragged Rika over to her dolls, where she promptly started playing with them.

_She looks so happy… nothing like how I felt when I was younger… I wonder what my life would have been like if my dad was still here… NO! I WILL NOT THINK LIKE THAT! I CAN'T!!!!!! But… I…_

"Rika? Rika? Earth to Rika?!"

The redhead looked up from watching Suzie play with her dolls and into Rin, Leighya, Jeri's and her mother's eyes, with a vacant expression in her own.

"I hope you don't mind that we're staying over tonight?" Leighya asked, always the polite one around people more than 3 years older than her.

Rika sighed and nodded. "Yeah, but… tomorrow, we're all supposed to meet up at our schools before we go to the ceremony, right?" She got nods from everyone around her. "So… won't it be a lot of trouble for us to get to two separate schools, and then get back together later?" More nods. However, Rumiko (seeing that Rika was trying, and succeeding to persuade her friends not to stay over) said quickly,

"Now now! Let's call all your parents, tell them that you're sleeping over! Then they can call your schools, and we can all sleep in tomorrow, and go to the ceremony together!"

More cheers greeted this, and Rika sighed in defeat. She had wanted time to herself to think about the dream/vision thingy that she had seen, but THAT was apparently not going to happen tonight.

"Come on… now, one at a time at the phone…"

Rika followed the Tamers and everyone else into the main room, where Ruki's grandmother had gone to get away from the madness know as Kazu and Kenta celebrating.

"Hello… I heard from here that you were all sleeping over… I can make you some food, or would you like to grab some chips from the store just around the corner? Or maybe you would like to go to sleep…."

However, Kazu answered that question LONG before she was done. "Dude, we want everything! Chips, pop, sushi, ramen… you name it, we'll eat it!"

Kenta sweatdropped. "Kazu… you shouldn't talk to your elders like that, Kazu!"

"So? She's Rika's grand… mother…" It was about then he realized that she was indeed Rika's grandmother, and therefore however he talked to her would be an immediate reflection upon Rika… who was currently cracking her knuckles, a number of facts forgotten:

1) It was about now almost midnight, and most people were asleep

2) She had just awoken from being knocked out for a couple hours, and her body was not quite ready to properly pound Kazu

3) Rin, Leighya, and Jeri were trying desperately to hold her back, and succeeding

4) There were enough witnesses in the room that Rika wouldn't be able to properly hurt Kazu

"KAZU, YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!"

Both Kazu and Rika then proceeded to leave the room, Rika hot on his tail.

The rest of the Tamers and Rika's family in the room sweatdropped.

"Well, you got to give her credit, she can sure get up quickly!" Henry said, all the while watching the red-haired girl chasing the visored boy around the Koi pond in the yard, before he tripped over something and fell into the pond.

Rika immediately stepped in and gave him a nice WHACK! over the head, before returning to everyone else in the main room, grinning.

"Now… who wants something to eat?"

**{}THE NEXT MORNING{}**

It was almost 8 by the time that everyone in the Nonaka household was up- guests included. No one was used to waking up so late, especially on a school day.

Rika sighed, slightly depressed. Knowing the Tamers, Henry, Jeri, or Ryo would more than likely mention Takato in their small speeches that they were going to say.

It worried Rika, because she had, over the last little while, tried to forget the Gogglehead, and to hear his name mentioned in a remembrance, as though he was dead… because, although others did not think so, she knew that he was not dead. She could feel it within herself, and besides, she though to herself rationally as they all proceeded to get in the limo that would take them to the HUGE auditorium of Hypnos, that could easily fit everyone left in the city in, if he was dead, why would the Hazard still be around?

Rika pushed by everyone and got to sit in the back corner, where she wouldn't be so close to everyone, and would also be the last to get out. Henry and Jeri sat on her left, while Rin and Leighya sat in front of her. After what happened not only last night, but also at breakfast, it was pretty obvious that she would not want to sit next Ryo, Kazu or Kenta.

__**{}FLASHBACK! AH!{}__**

Rika yawned as she stretched. She was so used to waking up much earlier than what she needed to normally, and then add in the fact that she didn't have to leave the house until 8:15 instead of 7:10…

Let's just say that Rika was pissed that she didn't sleep in more.

Not that she didn't try of course. She decided to lay in her bed, the heavy sound of three other's breathing filling the room.

Although her room was quite large and quite empty, with four adolescent girls on the floor in sleeping bags, the amount of room to move around in was incredibly little. Not to mention that it got quite hot with the windows closed.

Rika groaned as she got up to take a shower, only to hear that the water was already running. She was about to yell at whoever was in there to get out, when she realized that it would be smarter if she did her morning exercises first before she took a shower.

She walked out onto the small porch… thingy, and proceeded to stretch. She remembered how only a few days ago she had been doing the usual exercises, and then went to school, not suspecting a thing- the day had certainly started out normal.

It was only later that she found out about the attack. Her heart broke (or at least the icy shield still around it did) when she found out the fate of Mie and Takehiro Matsuda.

She groaned, remembering that today was celebrating the one-week anniversary and memorial service of that attack, and she decided that the Sakura tree beside the pond deserved a few punches and kicks.

She raised her fist to hit the tree- and stopped. Her eyes had found the surface of the pond, and in it, she could easily see (although she knew it was just her imagination) the image of her partner, lounging in the tree, just like she used to.

Rika felt herself almost beginning to cry, and she decided that her training could wait for today- she needed a shower, and soon.

She crept back into her room (not being courteous, just not wanting to talk to anyone), grabbed her robe and slipped into the bathroom down the hall.

She had just slipped into the shower and turned it on, when she heard foot steps down the hall. She assumed that it was just one of her "friends" that had slept over who was up early and heading to breakfast.

She didn't notice, however, how the foot steps stopped right outside the bathroom door, as she had turned her back away from the door, and was concentrating on massaging the shampoo into her hair. She also didn't notice when the door slid silently open.

She _did_ notice when the person standing in the doorway coughed to signal their presence. She whipped around only to come face-to-face with-

"YOU! HENTAI!"

This was followed by many, many, many repeats of the typical pounding: POW! TWACK! BLAM!

It wasn't too much later that Rika exited the bathroom, completely dressed, and looking less then happy. Everyone was sitting around the table in the dining room- the kitchen table, as big as it was, couldn't comfortably fit 12 people. Ryo, as soon as Rika sat down, moved to the other side of the room- he didn't want to be Rika's morning workout.

Kenta, who had just gotten up to get some more milk from the kitchen, came back with a new jug, filled to the brim. Kazu, who had just finished his meal, decided at that moment to stretch his legs. Unknown to him, his legs were place right in front of Kenta, causing the bespectacled boy to trip.

Needless to say, Kenta ended up spilling the jug of milk that he had- right onto Rika's head.

And, also needless to say, Rika was… more than a little angry.

"What did you do that for?!"

Kenta backed away. Kazu, though (not realizing that he was still on Rika's hit list) stood up for his friend. "Hey, he didn't do it on purpose… I tripped him, and-"

"You TRIPPED HIM?! As in, PURPOSEFULLY?! What the HELL do you think your doing, Shiota?!?!?!"

"Erm… eep!"

This resulted in _another_ chase around the yard, the rest of the guests and Rika's family watching in slight amazement.

"It's barely 6:30 in the morning, and she's already trying to kill someone…" Rumiko stated with a sigh.

__**{}END FLASHBACK!{}__**

Well, the Tamers did know that Rika would be angry for the day, so they decided that she should be kept separate from the other three… although no one could quite understand why she was angry at Ryo.

"It's gonna be another one of those days…" Rika's grandmother thought, as the limo took off towards the Hypnos complex.

And, things were just about to get much, much worse….

__**{}TA DAH! END!{}__**

And there is another chapter. Now, I sincerely hope that people won't kill me for making it so short compared to the other chapters- but exams are coming up, and school is almost over, so I won't be able to access the computers for a while. I will personally email you the answers to your reviews, or just say thanks.

Anyways, I hope that everyone has an awesome summer! Ja ne!

And, as always:

**Song of the chappie: "If I never knew you" from the Pocahontas OST, all rights reserved.**

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points down at the 'go' button beside the drop down thingy with 'review' on it

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_"Hmm? What? Stoner?" -me, during English_

_"I think this is a consiracy... they put some kind of drug into the radiators so that anyone who sits near the windows suddenly become stupid during last period!"_

_"And what you said the other day is a VERY good expample of that!" -convo between me and my friend, Mila, during English._

_(English seems to be a very weird subject for me, doesn't it?)_


	5. Ceremonies and other stuff

**---------------------------------------------------------{I}Begin Log{I}--------------------------------------------------------------**

Ta-dah! And, I just realized that it's been a while since I wrote anything for Running... or Secrets, for that matter. Why? Because I've been working on a random one-shot that will actually become at least two chapters, as I've only got about half of it done and the scroll thingy is pretty small. So, here's the next chappie of Running. Secrets will eventually be updated... but there's this little thing called writer's block... although, Bass is quite a good picture and character to look at while trying to write random stories. Yeah me!  
  
**Shila:** yawns you just HAD to get up this early, didn't you?  
  
**Kay:** hey, if we want to get something done, we have to work quickly! And that includes getting up just after my mom leaves for work.  
  
**Shila:** well, could you at least be a bit nicer, and not wake me up as well?  
  
**Kay:** I need you to do the disclaimer, though!  
  
**Shila:** get Tialsia to do it.  
  
**Kay:** Nah... after she made that thirty-second appearance in the first chappie, she's been busy working on Secrets- creating an OC based off someone you know, personality and everything included, is not easy, and the person you're basing it off of must-  
  
**Shila:** okay, okay, Kay does not own digimon. Nor, in my opinion, does she own the plot.  
  
**Kay:** well, yeah, but no one else really owns it either, so...  
  
**Shila:** (yawns again) on with the story- so that I can go back to sleep!  
  
**---------------------------------------------------------{I}Ta-dah! The story!{I}--------------------------------------------------------------**  
  
**_Chapter 5 (I think): Ceremonies  
_**  
**---------------------------------------{I}Rika's school... whatever it's called...{I}-----------------------------------------------------**  
  
Ms. Dimaou Romani looked over her class. She was one of three grade eight homeroom teachers, but she really thought that there should be at least one more teacher- each class had over 30 people in it, and the classes traveled around together- who ever was in your homeroom was in all your other classes. She really didn't want to have to go to the ceremony- her fourth cousin and his wife, whom she had only heard about last night, used to live in Shinjuku, and were killed. They apparently had a child who would have been also in grade 8- but, whether they were a boy or a girl, or even if they were still alive, she didn't know.  
  
Besdies- the only reason she was related to them was marriage- her second cousin had gotten married to their second cousin, or something along those lines. She knew their last name- Matsusha or something along those lines.  
  
What Dimaou couldn't understand was why she was only finding out about this part of her family now- some of the government workers actually came to school the day after the attack, and told her all about it. She also couldn't understand why the government would be telling her this- apparently, they owned one of the many bakeries in West Shinjuku, and had no special ties with anyone other than their relatives in Okinawa.   
  
This being only her second year of teaching, she was still young and could easily change careers if she wanted to. And she was thinking of changing careers very soon, mainly thanks to three girls who somehow managed to get into all her classes- Rika Nonaka, Rin Hidoshi and Leighya Satsuma. They were friends, and although Rin and Leighya didn't cause too much trouble in class (in fact, many teachers considered them to be some of the more 'ideal' students), Rika seemed to have a knack for annoying her teachers.  
  
Which she had just proven once again when her mother called, as did Rin and Leighya's, and informed the school that all three would be arriving straight to Hypnos, as it would make much more sense, considering that if the three went to school, they would have to backtrack.  
  
And that would be why our favorite heroine and her two friends weren't currently sitting inside the classroom, along with the other thirty-some-odd students, waiting for the P.A. call to go downstairs. Or, they were until-  
  
"Would all grade eight homerooms please make their way to the entrance hall to be counted and sent on their way to the ceremonies."  
  
Dimaou groaned as her class cheered. This was just not her day...  
  
**----------------------------------------------{I}Dum dum dum dum... erm, the LIMO! (I like Limos...){I}------------------------------------------  
**  
Rika stared out the window at the scenery flashing by. She heard the chatter of people behind her, and dimly noted that Rin and Leighya seemed to be quite interested in the whole 'Tamers' thing. Rumiko and Seiko sat near the front, if only to get away from the children who were taking up most of the back seat. Ryo, Kazu and Kenta sat around a table near where Rumiko and Seiko were talking quietly to each other and the driver, playing the digimon card game. Beside them, Suzie played with Ai and Mako and their families, who the limo happened to be passing and Jeri somehow recognized them. Finally, Henry and Jeri were explaining what had happened one year ago to Rin and Leighya and, in consequence, Ai, Mako, and their family.  
  
Rika turned her attention back to the outside world, trying not to think about anything- and failing. The dream she had was still bugging her, but then she remembered what Suzie had mention about the Hazard sign. That was what was bugging her. It wouldn't be long before Yamaki, or someone else at Hypnos, finally discovered the truth about the symbol, and then the Tamers would have to explain everything- which they all, especially Rika and Jeri, were not looking forward to doing.  
  
When she heard her mother telling everyone to start getting ready, as they were a block away, Rika shifted, and tried to stetch. She accidentally hit Rin in the head, who let out a small, "Ow..." before turning around and finishing up her conversation with Jeri, Henry, Leighya, and Ai and Mako's parents.  
  
"So... what happened a yaer ago was called D-Reaper..."  
  
"And... you children and your partners were responsible for ending it?"  
  
"With the help of Hypnos." Henry corrected. He didn't want to take all the glory- nor the blame.  
  
"Okay... and before that, the purpose of the Tamers was to... um..."  
  
"Protect the human world and Calumon." Ai and Mako's mother, Filane, put in, with a smile on her face. Although she was worried now about what her twins had gotten into, hearing what the others had to go through made her appreciate the fact that her children didn't need to be in the direct line of fire.  
  
"Right..." Filane's husband, Kile, said, still not quite understanding everything.  
  
Rika watched in ammusement as Ryo once again defeated Kazu, and winning another card off of him.   
  
"Thanks for the Sakuyamon card, Kazu. This will be an excellent adition to my deck!"  
  
Kazu groaned, and Kenta patted his back sympathetically, as everyone started to gather everything up.  
  
When the group felt a sudden jolt, they all stood up (well, in most cases crouched or slid down the seats), and exited the limo. After Rumiko said some final words to the driver, the limo took off towards the city proper, while the Tamers and their families were ushered inside the building to make way for all the other people that were arriving.  
  
Rika remained silent through it all, even when she was pushed and pulled through the crowd. Yamaki greeted them at the entrance.  
  
"I'm glad you could all make it. And I am sorry for your loss."  
  
Rika turned away, and Suzie, Ai, Mako, Filane, Kile, Rin and Leighya looked confussed- no one had exactly explained to them about Takato, or his family. Riley walked up behind her boss, and, telling the Tamers and their families, "Right this way, please", she saved everyone from talking about what was a very touchy subject.  
  
The moment that the Tamers entered the Main Assembly room of the newly re-built Hypnos, they were surprised to see that there was a whole three rows near the front saved just for them- if the fact that all their families were already there and waiting. As Yamaki and Riley introduced Filane and Kile to the 'Monster Makers', and all the Hypnos team, the Tamers chose a nicely secluded corner. Ai, Mako and Suzie immidetately went back to playing (or whatever they were doing), while Ryo, Kazu, Kenta, Henry and Jeri sat around Rika, who stared back at them.  
  
"What?"  
  
Henry sighed. "Rika... I can understand that you don't want to talk about Takato, but I think that I should just tell you that all three of us (he indicated himself, Jeri and Ryo) have all mentioned him in our speaches- although I think that Jeri is the only one that used his actual name. Myself and Ryo just simply... implied that he was here in ours."  
  
Jeri nodded, and Ryo was about to say something, when they all noticed the blank look on Rika's face.  
  
'How... how could they?! Not mention Takato... only imply? Well, I'm certainly going to imply something...'  
  
"How... why?"  
  
The others looked at her, and some of the Hypnos crew, who were new and wondering who these people were to get the best spots, along with the Mayor who had just requested a private audience for a moment with Yamaki.  
  
"Rika... what do you-"  
  
"Don't ask me what do you mean! He saves our lives, leads us blindly, is the best Gogglehead that any world has ever seen, and you only IMPLY that he ever existed?! Nice tribute, really..."  
  
"Well... if we all mentioned Takato, then wouldn't someone notice it, and wonder why he was so important? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure something like that out..."  
  
A coughing from behind them reminded the Tamers that there were in fact Rocket Scientists in the room- and that they still hadn't figured out quite what the Tamers were talking about.  
  
Rika glared at the group of technicians, trying to find the one that coughed. She turned back to the Tamers, noticing that they all had expressions on their faces that said obviously they thought she was over-reacting.  
  
"Oh, come one, Rika! We all miss him, but there's nothing we can do-"  
  
"Right, just like there's nothing we can do to bring back our partners!"  
  
"Well... there's not, Rika... we just have to accept facts and move on... Takato's gone for good, as are our partners... we can't just dwel on what could have been and should have been. And-"  
  
"And nothing, Mr. Perfect! I don't care if you've all decided to throw in the towel, but I'm not going to, even if I have to break into upstairs and work the Hypnos systems all by myself! And I don't care what anyone thinks- right after this, I'm-"  
  
"You're, all of you, going to come with us so I can introduce you to the Mayor."  
  
Everyone turned around to see Yamaki standing at the door, and elderly man in a black suit beside him.  
  
Rika growled, and slumped into her seat. She knew that this argument was over. But she refused to let them just decide for her what was going to happen to her future. Rika stopped herself.  
  
She didn't know when she had become so obsessed with the future, or with getting their partners and the Gogglehead back. But, she knew for certain, that it occured sometime after finding Rin, Leighya and Heiya spying on her on the roof of her school.  
  
'Great... I'm turning into a Gogglehead think-alike...' Just the thought of being like Takato was enough to make her scowl, and glare at anything that moved. Everyone slowly backed away from her, fearing for their health.   
  
Eventually, more people from all over the city began to enter, and Ai and Mako were the first to recognize people from their school. Rika simply continued to stare straight ahead at the stage, where a podium and a few chairs were all set up. Slowly, the chairs began to be filled up with dignataries from other parts of Japan, who all whispered together and obviously indicated that the Tamers and their families (aka everyone in the first two rows, since it turned out that there was barely enough people, extended family included, to fill up two rows let alone three) were the topics of discussion.  
  
Rika heard the doors opening once again, and was about to ignore it as more useless people entering, when a voice suddenly excalimed, "Rika! Rin! Leighya! Why did you not go straight to school today?!"  
  
This caught everyone's attention, and they turned back to find Ms. Dimaou Romani, the two other grade eight teachers, and all three classes from Rika's school, standing near the back, they being the ones who had just entered.  
  
Yamaki coughed, and looked to the three girls in question.  
  
Rika let out a soft growl before standing up, and addressing her teachers. "If you must know, my mom invited all my friends over for a sleep-over last night. So we all decided to come to the ceremony together."  
  
The Tamers noticed how it sounded forced when she said 'we', 'all', and 'friends'. They also noticed that she left out the whole fainting thing, and that she did not seem all that eager either to tell them about it.  
  
Dimaou looked at the children grouped in the corner, and noticed the area around them devoid of chairs. However, she did not question the set up of the chairs, and also began to usher her students inside. Mrs. Naemi, however, was one, and asked pointedly, "Why is it that those children get a space separated from the rest? Are they... special?"  
  
The entire Tamers group, their families, and even Yamaki shifted at them being called 'children'. Yamaki finally decided to speak up, just as the last student from Rika's school was seated. (For my purposes, and because I really can't seem to imagine a hall big enough to fit most of the city in, only one or two grades per school were allowed to come, as well as any other people who could get the day off.)  
  
"They arrived first, and moved the chairs that way themselves. Now, if we could all please start getting ready for the memorial..."  
  
Mrs. Naemi, apparently satisfied with the answer, shot the Tamers an unreadable look. Some of the students also joined in the staring- however, they were not only all seated on the oposite side of the room, their expressions varied so greatly that it seemed almost impossible to pick out the different people.  
  
After about twenty minutes, everyone seemed to be settled, and the Mayor stood up, his advisor and Yamaki flanking him.  
  
"Welcome, everyone. We are here to comemorate and remember everyone who has lost their lives in the past week. The current ruling body of Japan could not attend, as they had other important obligations to attend to.  
  
"Csh..." Rika whispered under her breath. "They were probably too scared to come here..." A few people sent looks her way, but she paid no mind, and soon everyone was once again focused on the Mayor and those around him.  
  
"Now, many people have writen speaches, or have decided to do or make some memorials, but before we get to them, I would first like to introduce everyone to Yamaki Mitsou (sp?), the Head of Operations here at Hypnos. He so kindly offered to not only let us use this hall for our memorial today, but he also is one of the people who are responsible for keeping track, and finding out information about these attacks on our city, including the one that happened about a year ago. Now, I am sure that Mr. Yamaki would like to say a few words?"  
  
The Mayor stepped back, away from the podium, and whispered a few words to Yamaki, who nodded in understanding. The blonde haired man then turned to the large mass of people infront of him, and addressed them.   
  
"As the Mayor just said, welcome. I am the Head of Operations here at Hypnos, and I would like to only say that I hope that everyone was able to get through this disasterous time, and that myself and everyone at Hypnos will aid you if you need it. Also, for those of you who know what this means, I would like to talk to the Tamers and Monster Makers about something that happened about a week ago- after the ceremony, of course. Now, back to the Mayor."  
  
After Yamaki said that, a few whispered ran around the room, everyone wondering who these 'Tamers' and 'Monster Makers' were. Those few who did know were wondering if another D-Reaper was coming, or if the digimon were simply coming back. Either way, everyone hushed as the Mayor once again took the floor.  
  
"I have nothing else to say, except that there will be some time after the ceremony for everyone to talk with one another before you leave. And now, on with the ceremony."  
  
The Tamers all were wondering what Yamaki was talking about, although they had a pretty good idea- Takato. Rika watched absent mindedly as the first speaker, Daisy from the Monster Makers, stood up and addressed the masses.  
  
"I know that we are all here to remember, to forgive, but not to forget. Even so, I would like to only point out a few things that some of you might not think about. First off is that we have all lost someone- even if you never knew them, there was always a chance that you would one day meet them, and that they could change your lives. I know that a lot of you can say yes to that, and some can say no. But no matter what, we still all lost someone. And so, it's not at all kind to forget them- anyone, whether they have been killed during the attacks, or after, due to the attacks. Everyone influences our lives in some way- and it's to their memories that I continue to live, doing everything I can to bring honor to them. One person in particular I do that for-" Daisy started to sniffle then, remembering something sad. "-I barely knew him, but the change that he made in everyone around him, even Yamaki was amazing. I only hope that everyone can experience the same joy that he brought to all of us- even if he was only 13 years old. And I hope that everyone can remember their lost ones without crying," at this point, she looked as though she was going to crack under the pressure, and although her eyes were red, she continued, "and be grateful that they had someone like that in their lives."  
  
With that, Daisy got off the stage, while Henry prepared to go up.  
  
Rika noticed who she mentioned, and although she was also feeling un-D.I.Q.ish, she kept a stone face, and listen to Henry speak. She drowned out most of his words, though, and everyone who came after him, thinking about what Daisy had said.   
  
"She barely knew him..." she whispered to herself. She was surprised that an almost complete stranger to the Tamers was getting so emotional talking about the Gogglehead. And the fact that Rika was able to keep away those emotions startled her. Of course, Rika has always thought that those kinds of emotions only hindered instead of helped, but seeing that...  
  
'No!' She cried out to herself in her mind. 'I will NOT show those kinds of feelings! I refuse to! I-'  
  
"Throughout this, we've all depended on each other and ourselves to get through. And, in continuing to live our lives to the fullest, we will be honoring-"  
  
Rika drowned the rest out with her own thoughts. She was pretty sure she knew what everyone was going to say- honor the dead by living our lives, and continuing like nothing happened. Well, she knew better. Although it sounded good and all, it would be impossible for some people to continue as though nothing happened- she knew that herself and the other Tamers would have a pretty hard time acting normal, as Takato, who had become a customary face in ever Tamer's home, including Ai and Mako's (who he sometimes baby-sitted) had decided then that there was no longer a reason to stay in the Real World. Now there would always be an empty spot- no one who would willingly let her kick their buts when she was frustrated, no one to babysit Ai and Mako, no one to talk to Henry about possible, crazy ideas to get their digimon back, no one to listen to Kazu and Kenta rambling on about digimon and not threaten them, and no one to keep Ryo busy when Rika needed her space.  
  
But most of all, no one now to talk to without them judging, and no one for all the other Tamers to... she hated to admit it, but it was like that Takato was the shepard, and the other Tamers were just the sheep. The followed him without... too many questions, they listened to him and his ideas, heck, some of them even looked up to him for guidance... although she knew that some of that was a little exagerated, she knew that Takato had seemed to be the one thing that held everything together, he was almost like a pin, or a piece of gum, or some tape- he was the one Tamer that all the others could identify with... or at least talk to.   
  
Rika was about to continue her little mind-rant on Takato's importance, so that she would never have to admit it again, whether out loud or in her head, when a loud booming voice cut through the quietness.  
  
"THANK-" the Mayor stopped suddenly, surprised by the loudness. After waiting a few minutes for the technicians to fix the sound problem, he continued. "As I was saying, thank you, all of you, for coming and listening to what everyone else had to say, and sharing your own opinion. Now, if you would like to leave, then you may, but we will be having a short break before we head out to Shinjuku Park to watch the unveiling of the new statue, which I have just learn still needs to be implanted into the ground. None-the-less, it will still be there. Anyways... oh yes, this will be about a half-hour break. Now... relax, and talk with those people around you. And yes, you can move around- this isn't school." Some people laughed at that as they got up to get some refreshments that had been set up at the back, or to talk with other people.  
  
The Monster Makers proceeded over to the Tamers, pulling up chairs and sitting down. Both groups sat in silence for a moment, before Suzie, Ai and mako broke the silence.  
  
"Hey! There's a lot of people here! Think that we could find other kids and play with them?"  
  
"Yeah! And then we could bring them back here so that everyone else won't be so sad!"  
  
"Awright! Then wets go hewlp Henwy and Wika and evweone else be hwhappy again!"  
  
Many of the adults and the teens/pre-teens started laughing at the three younger children.  
  
Suzie looked to Henry to see if it was okay. Henry nodded his head as did his father.  
  
With that, the three disappeared into the crowd... and re-appeared barely a minute later with what looked like all of West Shinjuku Elementary's grade 8 class. Kazu and Kenta jumped up, glad to see that their class was one of those chosen to attend (A/N: I wonder why...?). They began talking energetically with their friends, while other people from the class came over to talk to the other Tamers and Monster Makers.  
  
However, a young girl named Nikky, who was one of Jeri's closest friends (even though she wasn't in Jeri's class... or school, for that matter), noticed that a certain member of the Tamers was M.I.A. Actually, two were.  
  
"Hey!" Many of the people surrounding her turned to look at the teen. "Where is Takato and Rika?"  
  
Of course, once she asked it, everyone did, and the Tamers and Monster Makers soon had to retreat to the safety of a room in a corner they had seen Yamaki and the Mayor disappear into when the ceremony ended, locking the door so that no one could get in.  
  
"My GOD! Can't these people take a break?" Ryo asked, annoyed with how loud his friend's class was.  
  
"Glad to see you could make it. Won't you please have a seat?"  
  
Everyone turned around to see Yamaki, the Mayor, the Mayor's assisstant (who looked quite nervous), and Rika in the room. The three men were at the other end of the room by a large screen with a light shining on them. Rika was sitting in one of the black chairs along a long, black table, which sat on a black, marble floor, in a black marble room.  
  
"Dude... I love your color scheme. Who designed it... a goth?" Kazu asked sarcastically.  
  
Yamaki grunted, gesturing to everyone once again to sit down. Obeying, they all took spots around the table. The Mayor surveyed every face, then muttered something to Yamaki and his assisstant. Yamaki said nothing, while the other man made a note of whatever the Mayor said on a note book that seemed to appear from out of nowhere.  
  
The Mayor then turned back to the ground around the table. "So... you are the so called Tamers and Monster Makers responsible for saving Shinjuku before? Wasn't there another one fo you?" When no one answered, he assumed that there wasn't, so he continued on, "then why, in heaven's name, didn't you save Shinjuku this time?!"  
  
No one wanted to answer. There was no way that they could have known- besides, if it WAS D-Reaper, it would have stayed... right?  
  
"No one's answer me, Yamaki. I need some kind of information to go on so that if this happens again..."  
  
Yamaki nodded to the Mayor, then turned to the Tamers. "Make no mistake... the reason I called you here was because of a strange symbol that appeared not too long ago. I need to know more information about that, since it appeared once a while ago and crashed our systems. The Mayor here just wanted to meet you all. He has no other reason to be here."  
  
The Mayor looked as though he was about to say something, but Yamaki cut him off. "Your superiors gave me full control over everything at Hypnos- including who's allowed in. Now, I could easily kick you out... but, since you seem to want to get to know the Tamers a bit, then I will allow you to stay." Yamaki then turned back to the Tamers. "But first... there seems to be a missing face. Where is Takato?"  
  
None of the Tamers answered that. "I know that he ran away or did somethig else along those lines," the Tamers looked relieved that they wouldn't have to answer the question- or so they thought. "but, I also know you all got notes from him. If we can find out where-"  
  
"You're not going to find him." Rika said suddenly. The Tamers all nodded in agreement.  
  
"And why would that be?" Dolphin asked.  
  
"Because. He's Takato. If he doesn't want to be found, he won't." This time, it was Henry who spoke. Ryo and Jeri, also wanting to put in some comments, added theirs as well.   
  
"No matter what or where he goes, he'll make sure to stay hidden. As dense as he is most of the time, he's still smart enough to know how to stay out of sight."  
  
"Besides, he never told us in any notes about where he was going." Jeri said quietly.  
  
Rin and Leighya, who were standing by the door with the other Tamer's families, looked at each other. They knew that he left something for Rika- they had read the notes. But, would Rika say anything-  
  
"..." Rika, though, decided to remain silent.   
  
"So... even if we got a private eye on the case, we still wouldn't be able to find him?" the Mayor, asked, still trying to figure out who this 'Takato' person was.  
  
"Hmph... good luck." Rika said quietly. However, in the silent room, her voice carried easily to everyone's ears.  
  
"What do you mean?" Yamaki asked her, as everyone swiveled their heads in her direction. Rika ignored everyone, and just sat their, arms crossed over her chest, staring at the ceiling.   
  
"..."  
  
Not getting a response, Yamaki turned to the Monster Makers. "What could you find out about that symbol?"  
  
"Not much." Tao replied, as he pulled out a disc, walked to the back of the room where a machine was placed in the corner (which was also black), and inserted the disc into it. He proceeded to turn on the machine, and a screen at the front of the room lit up.   
  
After scrolling through those always annoying open thingys that all DVD players have, he finally reached the screen he wanted, and turned to face the rest of the room.   
  
"We couldn't come up with much, other than it has devastating effects on any kind of data that it encounters. Also, we found a match with one of the Tamers."  
  
"A match?" the Mayor was looking confussed now, and Janyuu (A/N: Janyuu is Tao, okay? Okay.) pressed another button, starting to view the disc. Everyone turned to look at the screen, and saw the symbol he was talking about- a series of three triangles, their points all attached to a circle at exactly 120 degrees apart from the other, and another up-side down triangle within the circle, it's points touching those of the three on the outside. It shone steadily on the screen, and a shiver passed through the Tamers. Jeri started to shake, and Henry, who was sitting beside her, wrapped an arm to steady around her shoulders to calm her.  
  
"This is the symbol we are talking about." Janyuu told everyone. "When we say a match, we mean that it matches one of the symbols that the Tamers have."  
  
The Mayor nodded, understanding. "So... who is it?" He eyed all the Tamers, seeing if anyone had a guilty face.  
  
Janyuu sighed, and looked at Yamaki. The blonde nodded, and Janyuu continued with the presentation. "If you all re-direct your eyes to the screen, I would like to play a clip from your battle against the D-Reaper about one year ago."  
  
The Mayor looked confused- again. "D-Reaper? What was that? I've only been Mayor for a month, people!"  
  
"The D-Reaper is what attacked the city last time." Kenta told him. The Mayor did not look too pleased with being told this by a boy, but let it slide as the clip began to play.   
  
The first thing they saw on the screen was a picture of the giant red blob (A/N: OF JELL-O! Sorry, sugar rush!). A streak of ligght was shown, heading towards the D-Reaper. The image then rewinded a bit, so that the streak was at it's closest point to the camera. The camera then zoomed in, and with obvious editing to get rid of the glare, a figure- no, two figures were shown on the screen. One was a white knight, it's red cape fluttering behind it in the wind. What he was ridding on looked like a giant dragon mecha.   
  
The Mayor looked on in confussion. Oh yes, he had seen that streak- he was pretty sure that everyone was able to see it. But the question still remained-  
  
"Who... what is that?"  
  
"You were right with 'who', but we'll let it slide." Shibumi said from his spot in the door way. Everyone turned back to him, glad to see that one of the few people who knew something and could possibly help figure out what the symbol meant was there. Too bad they only had to ask the Tamers.   
  
Anyways, Yamaki gesutred for Shibumi to take a seat, and he did- taking the only empty seat, beside Rika.   
  
"So? WHO is that?" the Mayor asked him, annoyed more than ever.  
  
"That is Gallantmon."  
  
"...mon? You expect me to believe that that... thing is a digimon?"  
  
"Yes. Because it is."  
  
The Mayor was silent. However, he turned back, and looked the knight up and down. "Alright... so what does this... 'Gallantmon' have to do with that symbol?"  
  
"If everyone would direct their gaves to his chest plate, you'll see." Daisy told them all.  
  
Indeed, as everyone looked, their, in all it's glory, black against the white armor was one of those symbols.  
  
"So... this Gallantmon is responsible for the crashes we've been having?"  
  
"We think so... but why he would do that..."  
  
Rika started fidgeting. Oh, she had a pretty good idea- but, how to say that he told her and not any one else...?  
  
Shibumi, unfortunately, noticed Rika's nervousness, and whispered in her ear, "what's wrong?"  
  
She looked back at him, startled. No one else noticed their interaction, as everyone was still trying to explain to the Mayor what happened- without telling him everything about the Tamers, like... biomerging.  
  
Rika weighed the pros and cons of her situation. She wanted to tell someone about the Hazard, and that Takato had deicded to take a one-way trip to the digital world, but she didn't want to seem weak in front of anyone. Making up her mind (and realizing that she could say something to him, and he could tell everyone else instead of her), she looked at him, and motioned for him to come closer.   
  
He leaned his head towards Rika's, and, after looking around and making sure that no one noticed (too bad she didn't look behind her), she told Shibumi in a dead whisper, "I... Takato said in my note... he needed to say good bye before..."  
  
Shibumi caught on, but he still had a question. "Who?"  
  
Rika looked at him, looking to anyone else who saw her as though she was about to kill Shibumi. However, he saw something that he had never seen in her before(or not as much), only the others- a need to be with their partner. And that told him everything he needed to know.  
  
"Okay... so, that symbol..."  
  
Rika looked down. Even though she now seemed to have a sixth-scence for the Hazard, and the Gogglehead, she refused to admit that she knew what the symbol was. Suzie, though, who had been listening to their conversation (she, Rin and Leighya had silently snuck up on Rika and Shibumi while the two were talking), didn't understand the concept of not saying too much, or, for that matter, whispering.  
  
"It's the angwy boy's pictuwe!"  
  
Everyone in the room turned to look at the young girl, wondering what she was talking about.  
  
"Suzie..." Henry told his sister quietly. It had been formally agreed upon that not one of the Tamers would mention the Hazard when Jeri or Takato were around- it would send either into a downward spiral of hate and self-loathing. I guess it was also too bad that Suzie didn't understand that, either.  
  
Rika searched Jeri's face, and saw that the other girl was shaking again, and her eyes looked down cast. Yamaki was waiting for someone to explain what Suzie meant by that, and the Mayor was still trying to understand what everyone had been telling him about the digimon. Shibumi looked once more at Rika, before standing up and walking over to Janyuu. After a quick whispered conversation, the shaggy haired man left the room through a hidden door, disappearing further into Hypnos.  
  
Seeing where Shibumi's gaze had last rested, everyone turned to look at Rika, who meeted their gazes with a scowl.  
  
"What?"  
  
"What were you and Mr. Shibumi talking about, Rika?" Jeri asked, quietly.  
  
Rika quickly thought through her options. She didn't want to think that there was something more going on than there really was- so she thought of what she would do had she been Takato. And grinned to herself, while keeping her usual 'look at me and die' look on her face.  
  
"Think people. If you were thinking suicidally, wouldn't you want to say good bye to everyone?"  
  
"Yeah... didn't he?"  
  
"Not everyone. All the Tamers, yes, but..."  
  
Realizing what she was getting at, Henry's eyes widened. "But... wouldn't that be impossible? I thought all the gates were sealed off..."  
  
And that sentence made all the older Tamers understand. Ryo looked barely surprised. "Well... considering that Takato DID create Guilmon... I can see why... but where would the portal be?"  
  
Rika groaned, hearing Ryo. "Where the damn light was, Mr. Perfect."  
  
All the Tamers looked at her, then at Yamaki, who hadn't understood what the Tamers were talking about, since he didn't hear Ryo. Neither did the Mayor- everyone else, though, did.   
  
"So... if he went back..." Daisy started.  
  
"...then there must be a portal. That light came from Shinjuku Park... so all we have to do is find where it is..." Janyuu continued. Yamaki finally got what they were talking about.   
  
"I'll open up the main tracking room again. Someone call up Riley and Talley. We're going to need everyone's help."  
  
All the Monster Makers nodded, and proceeded out of the room the same was that Shibumi left. Yamaki turned back to the Tamers. "So... this symbol has to do with Takato-"  
  
"You mean the angwy kid!" Suzie said in her little voice.  
  
Yamaki looked at Suzie. He then turned his attention to Henry, and asked a question that the Tamer's families, or at least Henry's own, was always wondering-  
  
"Why does Suzie call him the 'angry kid'?"  
  
Henry didn't want to say anything in front of Jeri. He looked at her, as Rika sat back in her chair. Ryo was looking at Rika, knowing full well that the red haried Tamer knew something the others didn't. He didn't say anything, though. Kazu and Kenta were shivering, remembering a certain battle between a biker demon lord and a huge, evil dragon.   
  
"Dude... did you HAVE to bring that up?!" Kazu asked aloud.  
  
"Yeah... seeing it once was bad enough..." Kenta whinned, wrapping his arms around himself.  
  
Everyone was confussed by their reactions, and were about to question it when Jeri let out a whimper. Henry was at her side immeditately after.   
  
"Jeri..."  
  
"Henry... please... can I... leave the room? Just while..."  
  
Henry nodded, and looked at Yamaki. The blonde haired man nodded his head, and he led Jeri over to her parents, who had shown up with the rest of the Tamer's families just before the ceremony began. Both her father and step-mother led Jeri outside, careful to watch over their young daughter.  
  
Henry returned to his seat, looking expectantly at Rika. He remembered how sensitive Rika had been to the Hazard last night...  
  
Rika sighed, and knew that Henry wouldn't say anything without her go-ahead either. "Alright. Since brainiac won't say anything..."  
  
All the attention was now directed at her. She glanced at Yamaki idly, and said simply, "Hazard. And someone else will tell you the story."  
  
Henry took that as his cue. "You see, when we went to get Calumon back from the Soverign, we ran into Beelzemon- Impmon's mega form. He had been order to destroy us by the Soverign and devas in return for granting him the power to go mega. It didn't matter what we threw at him, he didn't go down. It wasn't too long into the battle when he... deleted Jeri's partner, Leomon." A few gasps met this, and a spontaneous shudder ran through Kazu and Kenta.  
  
"After that, Takato got... well, really mad. He looked as though he wanted to rip Beelzemon apart with his bare hands. Guilmon, being so closely connected, shared Takato's sentiments. Takato forced Guilmon to digivolve- but, it didn't come out the way that he had expected. Instead of going to an ultimate or even mega form, Guilmon... transformed into a dragon called Megidramon." That name sent another round of shudders and shivers through everyone- Rika included. "Megidramon, as far we can tell, was close to winning, but got KO'd by Beelzemon. After Takato regained control of his emotions, he realized what had happened, and tried to get Beelzemon to stop, or Megidramon to revert to Guilmon. It worked- so well, in fact, that Takato ended up biomerging with Guilmon to form Gallantmon."  
  
That confussed the Mayor. "Wait... so, this Takato person I keep hearing about is Gallantmon?"  
  
"Only partially." Henry told him. "The other half is Guilmon."  
  
"Right... that makes no sense to me." The older man said, then sat down on a chair to the side of the room.  
  
Yamaki looked back at Henry, waiting for the blue haired Tamer to finish his explanation. "So... what are you saying?"  
  
Henry didn't want to answer, and no one else knew what to say. Rin and Leighya, who had put the pieces together faster than anyone else, decided to speak out instead. "So... when Takato gets angry..." Leighya began.  
  
"...bad things happen."  
  
"And Takato and Guilmon are that symbol..."  
  
"...or at least control it..."  
  
Thinking of something they heard Rika say once, both girls turned to each other, while everyone else watched their out-loud thinking process.  
  
"Didn't Rika say something once?"  
  
"Yeah, wasn't it... Hazard?"  
  
"Something like that... hey! That would explain that thing at the shed!"  
  
"And the fainting thing, too!"  
  
Rika groaned listen to her... companions. 'Great... now everyone thinks that I'm super sensitive or something..."  
  
Yamaki also watched the two girls who seemed to know everyone in the room, and feel comfortable speaking out loud. 'So... they know what's going on as well now... the old Mayor's plan of protecting the Tamers isn't working too well. I'm not sure if we can keep up the lies for much longer.' Instead, he asked the Tamers, "is what these two girls say true?"  
  
No one answered for a moment, until Suzie told them all, "Yup! The big dwagon was welly scawy, but the pwetty knwight was weally nice!"  
  
Yamaki looked the Tamers over, before nodding. "So... what could Takato have been angry about a couple days ago? If I had known that, I would have expected him to have blown something up before this."  
  
Everyone sweatdropped by how bluntly Yamaki put it.   
  
"Well... suppressed rage?" Rumiko said from the back wall.  
  
"Or... maybe it's not just when he's angry..." Henry said, thinking aloud.  
  
When people looked at him curiously, he explained, "If he did go back... maybe he needed the Hazard's power to open a portal."  
  
"That could make sense." Janyuu said, walking back into the room. "We found the centre of the energy disruption, and it's at a location near the centre of the park. To be more specific... right in Guilmon's shed.  
  
**----------------------------------------------{I}A giant beam of green stuff{I}------------------------------------------**  
  
The young boy continued to float around, not really caring. He could feel Guilmon, but he was far away- not extremely far, but still- he had a feeling that this data stream would be able to get him to Guilmon faster than if he walked. Not only that, there was no way that any digimon could attack him in here.  
  
He slowly felt his concious slipping, but before he did, he felt something different pass by him. Opening his eyes, he saw a strange, floating... 'A Crest' he thought to himself. Upon closer inspection, it showed the Digital Hazard on it. Although at first reluctant, he felt himself being drawn towards it, and grasped it in his hand. Upon doing so, he felt a strange surge of energy enter him. His D-Arc beeped, alerting him of something new. Reaching for it, he found that his hands now hand black gloves with red trim on them. Wondering where he got those, he was about to try to take them off, when his D-Arc beeped again. He grabbed it, and looked through the different screens.   
  
A new screen that he had never seen before appeared to him. "Hmm... what's this... abilities? O..kay... let's try... this one!" He highlighted one of the three that has big, bold and black lettering, and tried it. In front of him, a screen appeared, and showed the Tamers, Monster Makers, and everyone else inside of Hypnos in a dark, black room, talking about him and Guilmon- and, he saw, there was a picture of Gallantmon on the screen, with a close-up picture of the Hazard in a corner. He could tell that was what they were talking about.   
  
He looked back down at the screen on the digivice, until her heard Rika say something.   
  
"Hazard. And someone else will tell you the story."  
  
Yup, they were talking about the Hazard. Not wanting to listen to their P.O.V. of what was probably the Megidramon incident, he looked at his D-Arc and cancelled the function, making a note that it was called **'BaseGate Screen'**.  
  
Of course, he had no idea about that, and was about to try out the other two abilities, when he felt a sudden tug at the back of his mind. Realizing that using that ability caused him to loose energy, he fell into unconciousness, his body starting to regenerate the lost energy when he had used the technique.   
  
Little did he realize that accepting the Hazard Crest meant accepting a new responsibility that he was not ready for...  
  
**----------------------------------------------{I}Ending notes{I}------------------------------------------**  
  
Okay, I decided to rush-finish this, as I'm leaving for my cottage tomorrow, never to return- for two weeks, anyways.  
  
**Shila:** Don't you have internet in the library there?  
  
**Kay:** Yes, but... you see, I'll only be there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday until about 9 or 10 am. Then I go to Midland, have breakfast... somewhere, then I go and get a ton of junk food (Jacqui suggested chocolate and/or skittles), then go to the YMCA place in Midland and wait for the Kitchi bus to come and pick me up with some other people, take the bus to Honey Harbor, get on a boat, go across Georgian bay (or at least Big Dog Chanel) to Kitchi on Beausoleil (sp?) Island for two weeks, where I HAVE to wake up at 7:30 am. EVERY morning. Then get back on the boat, off the boat, on the bus to Midland, off the bus, into my car, and drive home for about 1 1/2 hours to here, collapse onto my bed, and fall asleep, waking up only to eat something.  
  
**Shila:** ...and you voluntarily do this every year?  
  
**Kay:** For the last 5! But this is my last year, unless I want to make a resume and try for a spot in LIT or CIT... but those are 1 month thingys, with 1 week out trips- I can barely stand 1 night out trips! Ggggrrr....  
  
**Shila:** So.. you're finishing it today?  
  
**Kay:** Not the serries, just this chappie. And speaking of that, onto reviews!  
  
**----------------------------------------------{I}Replies to Reviews{I}------------------------------------------  
**  
**_Snea:_** Thankies very much for the review!  
  
**_Marshmellow13Dragon:_** I have the opposite problem: I can sleep in forever! Anyways, thanks!  
  
**_bloodykitsune:_** I just got the candlestick part of your review last night. I'm dense huh? Anyways, yes it was Ryo... man, I couldn't stop Shila laughing at that during the entire night. Do you know how annoying it is trying to get to sleep when some on the other side of the room keeps laughing? It took 3 rolls of duct tape, a ton of threats, and some big time sedatives to make her shut up.  
  
**_Endermon:_** I can't help it- MEESA LIKE ANGST! MEESA LIKE TRADGEDIES! MEESA ALSO LIKE SUGAR AND CAFFINE! ...which I won't get a lot of in the next two weeks... :(:(:(:(  
  
**_OmnicromXR:_** hehehe... well, since this is the prequel to this huge big thing I'm doing called 'Warp Fusion', most things will be explained here... but, I must warn you, somethings won't be completely explained until Frist Cross (the first Book of Warp Fusion) comes out. And even then, it might take all the way till the third book for everything from this story to make sense. So, that might take... 3, maybe 4 years?  
  
**_BloodyKitsune:_** Well, my parents plan my schedule for my summer in March, so there's not much time for me to write. I have absolutely no idea how many chapters there are (more than likely somewhere around 15 or 20), and of course Megidramon is going to show up! I mean, come on... Besdies Gallantmon CM (who looks anorexic, BTW) and Vritramon (aka Burning War Greymon from 04), Megidramon is my face mon!  
  
**_Anon. 6:6:6:_** Nawh... Rika just needs to gave the tar beaten out of her... not that I would, of course... I'm NOT suicidal... maybe we could get Takato...  
  
**Takato:** HEY!  
  
**Kay:** hehe... um, sorry?  
  
**_GtaJake MK-II:_** Isn't it called 'Break Stuff?' Mreh... maybe that's just the Inu Yasha music video for it... anyways, when Takato is not mentioned, he is usually unconcious in the big, pretty thingy that is a messed up, green data stream. And I'll try to make that chappies longer. Not that I'll be able to write anything for a while...  
  
**----------------------------------------------{I}Quotes!{I}------------------------------------------**  
  
Ash: As much as I love wearing this costume... isn't it a little bit early for Hallowe'en?  
  
Me: Huh? Who said this was for Hallowe'en?  
  
Ash: Then what's it for?  
  
Me: Do you REALLY want to know?  
  
Ash: Yes.  
  
Me: Are you sure?  
  
Ash: Yes.  
  
Me: Are you 100%-  
  
Ash: YES! Now, what is this for?!  
  
Me: Well... Ya know Lee Ann's B-Day party?  
  
Ash: ...yeah... she IS my sister...  
  
Me: Well... we're supposed to be the entertainment...  
  
Ash: WHAT! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!  
  
[At this point, Ash starts chasing me around her back yard, trying to strangle me with some of her clown costume. Lee Ann and her friends walk out to see this, and start laughing]  
  
Lee: Well, at least they're funny!  
  
**----------------------------------------------{I}Others{I}------------------------------------------  
**  
**_CLICK THE BUTTON!  
  
THE BUTTON!  
  
BUTTON!  
  
!  
  
{forces heads to look at the 'go!' button}  
  
!  
  
BUTTON!  
  
THE BUTTON!  
  
CLICK THE BUTTON!  
_**  
**----------------------------------------------{I}Song of the Chappie{I}------------------------------------------**  
  
I dunno... either 'Break Stuff' or 'Just one of those days' (not sure which title is right) by Limp Bizkit, OR Boys & Girls by... I think it's Ayumi Hamaski, but the thingy for artist says ÀØ±T¨B, so...

**---------------------------------------------------------{I}End Log{I}--------------------------------------------------------------**


	6. Takato

**----------------------------------------------{I}Begin Log{I}------------------------------------------**  
  
**Kay:** Ta-dah! I got back from camp not too long ago, and now I'm being forced to go back up to my cottage for a week and a half! Soo... I know that I could either write a VERY short chapter, or just do a back-ground chapter, to explain some of the things that are going on- and might go on in the future.  
  
**Shila:** (snore)  
  
**Kay:** ...right. Well, while Shila's sleeping, I guess I should start with this mini-thingy. And I don't own digimon!  
  
**----------------------------------------------{I}Hinters Pt. 1{I}------------------------------------------**  
  
She sat, staring at the television, annoyed. Oh yes, of COURSE YTV would JUST have to run season 04 again, starting from the MIDDLE. Why not the begining? Or, even better, why not season 03? Everyone LOVED the Tamers... or, she did, at least.   
  
She was quite close to putting her hand through the tv screen, when a thought burst into her mind, and she began to laugh, giddy with excitement.  
  
"Of course! Hehehe... I can't wait!"   
  
She skipped happily around a corner and down a hall way to a small room in a back corner of the small, one-story-plus-a-basement house. The room was sealed off from the rest of the house by 3 doors, a laundry room, and a usually in the way table. The room itself had two desks, some cupboards, a small coffee-table on which rested a scanner/printer/photo copier (Lexmark X85), two computers (on one of the desks), piles of papers, binders, and loose sheets of paper. An empty cracker box, a half- filled water bottle, an empty coke can, some candy wrappers, and a plastic container that was once filled with cut-up cantelope were scattered around the other desk. A bathroom was at one end by the door, opposite the high window. Strange and different pitcures, odities, and toys were also strewn through-out the room.   
  
She made her way towards the desk with the computers on them, almost stepping on a painting that she had done of some random person with pointy ears. "Ooops... now... where did I put that?"   
  
She began searching frantically through the small books of papers, sketchbooks, note pads and journals that had ended up stealing all the space on the computer desk.  
  
After almost ten minutes of searching, she slumped down, next to the desk and sighed.  
  
"Man... how hard could it possibly be to find a picture that's about the same size as a scanner?!" She moaned.   
  
"Well... you COULD try to organize this place... it's a pig sty, if you don't mind me saying so."  
  
She looked up at who spoke, her brown hair falling into her eyes. "Yeah? Well, who asked you?!"  
  
"You did. Just now."  
  
"It was rhetorical."  
  
"Your point?"  
  
"Just... oh, nevermind. Could you help me look for my painting?"  
  
The other figure simply smiled at the teen. "And which painting is this?"  
  
"The one I did for Running."  
  
"...that doesn't help."  
  
"And neither do you."  
  
"Har har. If you're not going to answer me, or at least tell me more than we're looking for a painting, then I'm going to go send an email."  
  
"To? If you're sending it to that guy again..."  
  
"Who?"  
  
She looked up once again at the figure, clear blueish-gray eyes raditating annoyance. "You know very well who. What was his name? Derek?"  
  
"Oh, him... yeah, I got bored with tormenting him. It was kind of funny though..."  
  
"Oh yeah, and the threats that I got in return to yours were hillarious."  
  
"Weren't they? I thought so. That guy couldn't even spell 'my' right."  
  
"True... so, who are you emailing?"  
  
"Who else, other than our favorite Belldandy look-alike?!"  
  
"...Jacqui's in Japan right now."  
  
"Darn it. Oh well. Guess I am going to help you, then. So... what's up?"  
  
She stood up from her spot on the floor, pulled out the chair, and plopped herself down. Her hair fell, once again, into her face. This time, she bothered to raise a hand to push it behind her ear.  
  
"I need to write a background story on Running. And that painting I did is always good for inspiration..."  
  
"Oh! THAT one! I thought you meant something else..."  
  
She galred at the other computer screen, in which she saw the reflection of her companion. "You can be so hopeless, sometimes..."  
  
"Not as bad as you!"  
  
"True, but still..."  
  
The other figure, a lean, tall girl, with short, brown-red-blonde-orange hair that was pulled back tightly into a pony tail, made her way towards the computer the other girl was sitting at, and, pulling up the other, not-so-comfy chair, sat down, resting her head on her hands.  
  
"So..."  
  
"So what?"  
  
"What are you going to write?"  
  
"...I have no idea."  
  
"Helpful."  
  
"Be quiet. I'm trying to concentrate."  
  
"Sure, sure..."  
  
There was silence for a few moments, before the first girl started to giggle again.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I just though... what if we did an insight into Kiken's point of view? Like, write this chapter as he sees it, through the funny viewing-window thingy."  
  
"Really. And what would THAT be good for?"  
  
"Well, I wanted to do more on the ceremony, but I need to pick up the pace a bit-"  
  
"A bit?"  
  
"-and the little confrontation that I have planned would work quite well this way!"  
  
"...remind me to ask where you get your ideas."  
  
"Sure. But you'll have to remind me to remind you!"  
  
"Whatever. You gonna start typing?"  
  
"Don't have much choice, do I?"  
  
"Yeah... don't you wonder, though? How it would feel to have someone else, who you don't even know exists and who thinks you're nothing but an anime character write out your actions, thoughts, feelings... your fate?"  
  
"I would rather not think about that, thank you very much."  
  
"Well, you're doing it right now."  
  
"Just because I know these peoples doesn't mean anything! The First Lady let me come back home, using BG, so I don't think that I should be prohibited from writing whatever I want!"  
  
"...you do realise that you sound insane, right?"  
  
"..."  
  
**----------------------------------------------{I}The Story{I}------------------------------------------  
  
Running   
  
Chapter 6: Takato  
  
----------------------------------------------{I}Open{I}------------------------------------------**  
  
Oh, the great, amazing green-ness. How it sparkles, moves and yet doesn't. How it's color simply fills everything with green light. How it keeps me trapped here.   
  
Oh yes. It does that, and many other things, too. Like zap my energy. Annoy me to no ends. Become very boring after almost a week of being in it. Or, it feels like a week, anyways. Maybe it's only been a day or two? No, I'm pretty sure that it's been a week. Seven days have passed since I left- six since Rika fainted, five since the ceremony. A whole week has gone by, and the only scenery I've seen is green-ness. Now, I've never had anything about the color green. In fact, there should be more of it, especially in the Digital World's desert. And some of the cities in the Real World. And the deserts there, too. Of course.  
  
But, a week of green-ness is not quite fun. Your skin looks green. Your clothes look green. Your shoes look green. Even the color that is the furthest possible color away from green in that spectrum thingy- looks green. Maybe all of me is green. Except for my gloves. They stay black, for no apparent reason. Not that I'm complaining. As long as there is something that isn't green, I'm fine.  
  
At least it isn't pink.  
  
I don't have anything against that color, either, but still...   
  
...I think that I started hanging out a bit too much with Rika. I'm not complaining- in fact, I would like to spend every minute of my time with Rika. Even if it is just her beating me to a pulp. Or beating me in the card game. Or beating me at whatever else we do.  
  
...Rika beats me in a lot of things. I don't mind, of course... I still get time to hang out with Rika, and that's all that matters. I think it has to do with something that my parents used to tease me about. Before they were murdered, of course. Mom used to tease me about being in love with Rika, and dad was no better, even if he went about teasing me in different ways, aka public embarrasement. Now, though, I think they might be right.  
  
That doesn't matter know, though. I'm miles away from anywhere. I think. I can't see anything through this green light.  
  
Oh yes, the ever present green light. I wonder if there's a switch that I can hit, so it would turn off? Probably not, though...  
  
Hmm... maybe this crest could do something? Nah... so far, I've only been able to work those viewing screens to the Real World- and even though I have been getting better (I think) at not being so tired afterwards, although I still do fall asleep right after, I think that the other things on the list would probably take even more of my energy. As much as I love sleep, and the chance to get away from the green-ness, I still would prefer to spend most of my time in the land of living. Or, at least the land of the concious. Yes, being concious is good. I don't like missing out on things.   
  
Like that time I apparently missed out on Ryo walking in on Rika taking a shower a bit before I got the crest. Still at angry at Ryo, by the way, for not getting out of there asap. I'll make sure that if I ever see him again, which I doubt I will, that I bring up the subject- when Rika isn't within hearing range. If I do go back, it won't be to get killed. That's why I'm in the Digital World.  
  
I just realized. Data, when it's deleted, is either absorbed, or is reformatted here, right? So... what happens when I die? This is too confusing.   
  
For now, though, I have a reason to live. I found out by accident that I can sometimes affect things in the Real World when I have the viewing window thingy open- but only things that I can see in the window. The few times that I have, I ended up unconcious right away, though. Instead, for now, I'll see if I can't help or hinder everyone. Helping Rika to stay open, and nice. Hindering Hypnos while they try to find out where I am.   
  
I guess I'll just stick with helping Rika. It would take too much effort to do anything else. And I'm happy and proud that I was able to do two good things for her- although, now that I think about, they're not all that good. Still, that girl, Heiya or something, was getting on my nerves. So...  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
I had awoken from my unconciousness to find that they window thingy was open- and trained on Rika. By the lighting in the picture, I'd say it was almost 6, or so. Maybe 4 or 5, or 7 or 8. I'm not good with times. Anyways, she was pushing her way through a street. I can only imagine where she was going, when she should be having dinner. At least, I think she should be having dinner. Still not completely sure about the time thing.   
  
She certainly seemed to be in a hurry. Although no sound came through, and the little bit that did must be awfully loud for me to be able to hear it, I could tell that some one was following her, as she continuously looked back over her shoulder quite a few times. I had no idea what day it was, since, ya know, I was kinda unconcious for a bit, but I assumed it was the same day as the ceremony. Found out later that it was actually the day after the ceremony. But that's useless information right now.  
  
I couldn't help but notice that Rika didn't seem to be afraid- she just kept moving quickly, heading towards, once I recognized the area, Shinjuku Park. Having no idea why she was going there, I decided that it might be worth a bit of my energy to keep the window thingy open, and see what was going on.  
  
It wasn't long before Rika reached the entrance to the park, but, instead of waiting or even pausing for a second, she accelerated into a run, then a sprint, and tore through the park. Her face was still emotionless, and I started to wonder whether she was being chased. Actually, I was pretty sure that she wasn't being chased- only possibly followed. Still I couldn't see who was following Rika, nor why they were. However, my main priority was observing, as back then I had no idea about the whole 'affect things' thingy. So, I sat back and watched the show. It was a bit boring, though. Just Rika running through a park... down a VERY familiar path... why was it so familiar? Oh yes, that's the path to Guilmon's shed. How could I forget that?  
  
Back to Rika running. She seemed to share the same thought I had just had, because she looked around, then took off with a sense of purpose in a direction, around a corner, up some stairs hidden by bushes, before she stopped, and made her way around the back of the run-down shed that stood before her, giving it lots of room. There wasn't much to see around the back- just the hole in the wall that Guilmon had made. It was filled in now, but what was used to fill it in seemed to be indestructible, as the much-darker tar... stuff wasn't worn or cracked at all.  
  
She panted slightly and leaned against a tree, perfectly hidden by the shed. There was so little room between the shed and the tree and the forest behind the tree that it appeared that no one was there.  
  
She waited for a few moments, before looking up. It was pretty obvious that someone was coming, based on how she glared at the unseen figure(s?). It didn't take long for Takato to find who had attracted her attention, and possibly followed her. Yes, it was definately followed, as Rika looked about ready to brake into a run again. Besides, she would never let herself be chased- and even if she did, she would kill me for using that term.  
  
Anyways, it took me a bit to realized who she was staring at. The two girls who were with her in that confrence room at Hypnos. Another girl was behind them, but she didn't seem to be doing anything- no, wait, she had a hand on each of the other girl's shoulders, and pushed them none-too gently towards Rika. Both of the other girls looked sheepish and nervous, as though they didn't want to do or say whatever they were going to do or say.   
  
Rika's mouth began to move, and I saw her eyes flash with both anger, but something else as well. It seemed almost betrayl, or hurt, or something else along those lines. But that emotion was quickly covered up behind her anger. It was pretty obvious she was either yelling, or hissing at them. I, for one, would prefer to be yelled at. Rika hissed at me once, and I think that I was about ready to run for the hills, since it just seems so... evil. Apparently, though, she was hissing, because Rika's yell has got to be one of the loudest things in the world, and I couldnt' hear it.  
  
Not to mention the two girls winced, and looked about ready to turn tail and run as far away from Rika as possible. And, judging by the look on Rika's face, that would probably also the smartest thing to do. The other girl, though, would have none of it, I guess, as she shoved the other two forward a bit more. I already didn't like the other girl. She seemed to just plain radiate envy, snobiness, and other things that people don't like in others. Like jealousy. Yup, there was quite a bit of that. However, I felt the under curents of another feeling, which, by now, I knew all too well- I knew it all too well that day over a year ago. The day that I would like to forget, even more than when we lost our partners.  
  
Hate.   
  
It wasn't the most obvious thing on the third girl, but it was still there- and it made me dislike her even more. Apparently, whatever Rika was saying got on the third girl's nerves, since she shoved the other two out of the way, and down onto the ground, while she took a step towards Rika. She held her body in a position that would be threatening to anyone else, with one foot forward, both hands in fists, one fist slightly behind and the other infront of her head. Rika responded by I'd guess more hissing- still couldn't hear anything.  
  
After a bit more of the silent hissing, and probably a bit of yelling from the other girl, they both launched themselves at the other.   
  
I had never seen a cat fight before- and I don't think I ever want to, again. They scratched, bit, kicked, punched, and everything else you could do to hurt someone- especially pull hair. There was a lot of that in this fight. Although, now that I look back on it, it was partially interesting, seeing Rika fight in a totally different style. Then again, it wasn't completely different- the other girl had a bloody nose and a black eye thrice over barely 30 seconds into the fight.   
  
Rika didn't look too bad- her hair was messed, and it was obvious that she was going to have at least one bruise tomorrow, but she seemed to be dominating the fight.   
  
I watched everything with mild interest. This wouldn't be my normal choice of, well, let's face, entertainment, but it was better than nothing. Besides, I needed to see it so if I needed to help Rika... although I highly doubted that I would, and even if I did, how could I?  
  
Almost five minutes into the fight, and Rika was owning the other girl. She looked about ready to give up, but Rika would have none of that. I guess that Rika switched to yelling, since I could barely hear what she said. But hear I did.  
  
"You little... how dare... I'm going to kill you, Heiya!"  
  
The other girl, which I now know as Heiya, looked about ready to just die like what Rika was threatening, but there would be none of that- she grabbed a branch from somewhere (I'm pretty sure another of the girls slid it to her... why can't there be rewind on this thing?), and started to retaliate. The branch added an extra 2 1/2 feet onto Heiya's reach, and also worked pretty well as a bat, so, although at first Rika was holding her own, it soon became obvious that Rika was in a bit of trouble. I heard her cry out more than once as the branch continuously hit her. And, considering this was Rika, who would usually rather die than show any pain, it made my blood boil.   
  
This Heiya girl was continuing to hit, and probably hurt Rika, even when Rika cried out in pain. Didn't she feel any sort of compassion? Didn't she care at all? Didn't she even have a heart? Didn't...  
  
I had to stop myself there, before I let myself become lost in what I now saw taking over Heiya- the pent up hate, which had built upon itself and grown slowly stronger. She almost reminded me of Megidramon. Thinking of that sent a shiver down my spine. I would much rather not face anything that remind me of Megidramon. And then, I thought of Rika. Something was making her weaker, but what... maybe she had also made the connection to Megidramon I had, and was... afraid? I'm pretty sure that Megidramon shook us all up a lot, but I never knew how much it really effected the other Tamers, other then Jeri, who had to go to a physcologist, and Ryo, who wasn't even there.  
  
I began to hate this Heiya even more. I didn't want to let my temper get the better of me, but I couldn't just sit back and watch as she beat Rika mercilessly. I looked at the scene, and thought that the branch that Heiya was holding should beat it's holder instead of Rika, and maybe a few of the scattered stones, other branches, and tree boughs should also attack Heiya. I though that the other two girls should just leave, and if they didn't, then they should get attcked as well. I thought that Rika should move further back, towards the shed, and possibly in it, so that she would have some protection. I thought that Heiya should just have a heart attack, or collapse, or something along those lines. I thought that I would even be willing to tap into the power of the Hazard crest, all the hate and malice that it represented, if only to save Rika from getting hurt more, and make what I thought come true.  
  
To my surprise, it did.  
  
First, the Hazard symbol began to flash slowly on my hand. I didn't notice, still concentrated on the fight. It began to flash faster and faster, until it was a steady, crimson light in the green-ness. I had, by now, noticed it, but it was second to my concern, and hate. However, I decided that it should be my main priority, when the branch Heiya was holding, as well as many inanimate things, began to attack Heiya. And when one of the girls left, but the other, who stayed, got whacked in the head by a tree bough, making her follow her companion. And when Rika began to drag herself towards the safety of the shed. And when Heiya randomly collapsed onto the ground.   
  
I continued to look at Rika, as she continued to drag herself. She looked as though she was getting weaker, and I willed her to stop moving, that it was okay now. And she did. I looked down at my hand, surprised. I shouldn't be able to comand things like that- it was almost like a video game. Almost. The Hazard began to flash at a rapid pace, and I knew that my time as 'God' was soon over. So, with the last of my strength, I willed Rika fall asleep, and wake only when it starts to rain, get really cold, was fully rested, and her energy restored, or her family came looking for her.   
  
Then, when the Hazard flashed one last time, and then stopped altogether, I promptly fell into unconciousness once again.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
I hadn't realised at the time, but I got Rika, Heiya, and the other two girls into serrious trouble. Obviously, they couldn't say what really happened- that some things that shouldn't be able to move on their own did, and attacked them. Instead, they did something which I think is both very mature, and yet very stupid- at least in this situation. They said that Rika and Heiya were fighting (well, they were), and that it got a bit out of hand. The other two girls, who had ended up running into so many things in their haste to get away, looked not much better than either Rika or Heiya. They said that they got in the way of some punches, kicks, etc.   
  
Heiya had to be hospitalized. I wondered what did happen. Obviously, I was the cause, but I had thought 'something along those lines'. Along the lines of collapsing, or getting a heart attack. I wondered what it was, but it was something big, since she's still in the hospital, four days later. She'll probably be in the hospital for a while.  
  
Rika was grounded by her mother for a month. No digimon, no hanging out with friends- she was to come straight home from school everyday, and help her grandmother with all her spare time. Of course, her grandmother was a bit more leinient, and promised Rika to let her out of the house when her mother wasn't around. Which was pretty much all the time, so it made almost no difference.  
  
The other two girls, I found out their names are Rin and Leighya, were also punished for being part of the fight. All four families ended up paying each other's hospital bills, so that there would be no reason to go to court, or make an even bigger deal of this.   
  
Rika was also hospitalized. Although it was for a much shorter time than her attacker, she still was there for a good two days. Doing what, I'll never know, nor do I want to.   
  
I think that it was probably better that the fight had ended where it did. I'm glad that no one was severly hurt (save maybe Heiya), but I'm not sure if I should have used the Hazard. Before, I had Guilmon to feed my anger into. Of course, I still do, but I have no idea where he is, or what he's doing. I don't want to risk having him turn into Megidramon again, so I guess I need to chanel my anger somewhere else- like, say... the view window, and affecting things? It seems to be the best way, but I don't know any of the other variables.   
  
Understandably, I have to be careful.  
  
Of course, I still can have a bit of fun- every once in a while, I'll just open up a view window to see what the other Tamers are doing with their lives- and I hear some quite interesting conversations.  
  
For instance, Kenta apparently has a crush on a girl from Rika's school. In Rika's class. Don't really know her name, but just the fact that it's Kenta... with a crush on a girl... somehow, that is the strangest thing I have ever heard. Almost as weird as... Rika in a pink dress. I would pay to see that.  
  
Then there was the time I heard Ryo talking, and saying something about 'love' and 'Rika' in the same sentence. I hope to God that he's not talking about being in love with Rika, because I, frankly, don't want to injure a fellow Tamer.  
  
Rika herself is always interesting to watch. She's sometimes quiet, sometimes loud, and her mood changes faster than Guilmon when he smells bread and/or peanut butter.  
  
I found that I can't really see anything else through the windows. Nothing about anything or anyone other than the Tamers. And absolutely nothing in the Digital World- where I am, I assume, right now.  
  
I've seen those other two girls, Rin and Leighya, a few times as I've watched the others. They seem to know about the digimon, since every once in a while, they'll corner a Tamer, and ask questions. How do I know they're asking questions? It seems the more I use the window thingy, the more control I have over it, including a little something called volume.   
  
Anyways, I'm begining to think that it's because of them knowing about the digimon that Heiya attacked Rika- or, at least cornered her, then attacked. They made me worried- whos to say that, under the right, or should I say wrong, circumstances, that they won't just blab everything? Being known in my school and the surrounding area as one of the kids who saved the world is enough publicity- having absolute strangers walk up and start talking to you is not something I would like to have happen to me.   
  
However, since I'm not exactly going to be going back any time soon, I don't have to worry. But I think I'm one of the most open about the whole digimon thing- or, anything not relating to Guilmon. It's still too hard to talk about him, and it will be, until I see him again, I'm sure.   
  
Regardless, I saved up energy for almost a whole day, and monitered the Tamers. I was looking for Rin and Leighya specifically, but I had to wait until they showed up. I didn't have to wait long.   
  
Just this morning, they found Rika as she was walking to school, and began trying to talk to her. Rika just 'hmphed', and quickened her pace. As much as I would like to follow her, I realised that this would probably be my only chance of getting to Rin and Leighya. I wasn't even sure that my plan would work- only one way to find out, right?  
  
I willed the window to stay on Rin and Leighya. That in itself took up a lot of my energy, so I knew I had to work fast. I thought about how furious I would be if everything that Hypnos, our parents, family and friends had done, to ensure that the Digimon Tamers remained a secret, and how bad a tribute to them it would be if word got out. Even after all they had done.  
  
The Hazard began to flash, and I felt as though I had a bit more contol than the past two times- once with Heiya, once with Megidramon. I thought about how I want the two, Rin and Leighya, to either just completely forget about the digimon, or to not believe in them anymore.   
  
It took a bit of doing, but soon both girls were wondering why on Earth they believed anything about the digimon being real. They're only little card games, and toys and tv shows. Nothing for them to think about. They found it quite funny, now. Then they thought about how stupid Rika and the others were, believing their own lies, and living them like the events really happened. They walked towards school, still going on about how stupid they had been to believe, and how stupid Rika is to still believe it.   
  
I think I probably over-did it a bit there, but it still had the same effect; those two were so proud that they would rather not talk about believing in digimon aloud, and laugh about it in private, so that no one would hear them. Which was excellent for me. I was surprised, though, that it was so easy- I think that I have either more control over the Hazard, or the Hazard has a will and it wanted to change their memories.   
  
However, I didn't get any time to ponder the questions, and forgot them immediately, as I fell into unconciousness.  
  
I just realised that I seem to do the whole 'fall into unconciousness' thing a lot, lately. Guess it comes with the territory- in case you've forgotten, that's the really annoying green light/data stream. Well, I'm only half sure its a data stream. Data streams are usually a pinky-redish color, not green. And they eventually let you out somewhere, or see the outside world. Not this one.   
  
This one baisicially holds you prisioner. It's a good thing that you only have to eat in the Digital World when you want to- otherwise, I think that I might already be dead.  
  
So many things have happened in the last little while, it's almost more annoying than the green light. Almost.   
  
But, out of everything, the one thing that bugs me the most is that so-called 'terrorist' attack. They called D-Reaper the exact same thing, only it obviously wasn't. It couldn't be further away from being a terrorist attack. Well, it could, since D-Reaper could be considered a terrorist, I guess... what the hell. This is too confusing. I'm just really worried that D-Reaper or something else might be planning to attack the worlds. I guess I shouldn't be, really, but still... it would be good if I could do something. Anything, really, to find out what's going on.  
  
It's too bad then that I'm trapped in this green thing.  
  
Stupid green thing.

****

**----------------------------------------------{I}Hinters Pt. 2{I}------------------------------------------**

The second, multi-colored haired girl finsihed reading what was written. "You must really be desperate to get something out, if THIS is what you wrote."  
  
Pushing more of her brown hair our of her eyes, the first girl scowled. "Come on, it can't be that bad. Besides- I was asked for a quick update when I get back from camp, so here it is!"  
  
"Well, yeah, but you could have put a bit more effort into it..."  
  
"And you could put a bit more effort into your corrections. You know how annoying it is reading through this thing when it's posted, and finding about twenty million things wrong with it?"  
  
"Yeah yeah yeah... so, when are you going?"  
  
"Going? Where?"  
  
"To Parkway? To get some stuff? And more money?"  
  
"Oh yeah... well, I have to take a shower. As of noon, I'll have six hours 'till mom gets home, so I'll probably do stuff then."  
  
"...this is so weird being here, and saying 'mom' again."  
  
"I know. Hey, she's not YOUR mom!"  
  
"I know! I don't have a mom! Still... just hearing it..."  
  
"Same. Hey... you want a Klondike?"  
  
The red head looked up quickly. "You have some?!"  
  
The burnette stiffled a chuckle at how ready her friend was to eat something not very healthy. "No, but I might go to Lucky Mart around the corner later."  
  
"Aw... I guess... oh, I'm going to be gone helping First Lady B. with some stuff."  
  
"Dare I ask?"  
  
"No. 'Cause I have no idea what I'm doing, anyway! I think I'll be gone for about a week and a half."  
  
"Good. Then you'll get back just as I do."  
  
"Yippe. Hey, you know when you're going on your boat trip?"  
  
"Sometime next week. Even then, it all depends on the weather."  
  
"Yeah... had fun at camp though, right?"  
  
"Hard not too!"  
  
They sat in companionable silence, listening to "Makenai Ai ga Kitto Aru" as it started to play. Letting her boredom over come her, the second girl stood up.  
  
"I'm going to go to STC. You coming?"  
  
"Nah... still have to have a shower, remember? And do everything on my 'To Do' list."  
  
"Don't forget about Hailaia's C.D.!"  
  
"How could I?"  
  
"Bye!"  
  
"Ja ne!"  
  
**----------------------------------------------{I}Ending notes{I}------------------------------------------**  
  
**Kay:** Alright... now, those little snippets were completely pointless, but they help to tie in Warp Fusion when this is over. They'll appear in random chapters, when I feel like I just need something that gives some hints, or the chapter was't long enough.  
  
**Shila:** Yeah... hey, you getting your hair straightened?  
  
**Kay:** yup! Tomorrow... last night with curly hair! (starts to dance around)  
  
**Shila:** right... anywyas, Are you going to work more on your new website?  
  
**Kay:** another yup!   
  
**Shila:** right...  
  
**Kay:** Thank you to all reviewers, and people who put me or my stories (as few as they are) on your favorites list! You all get cake! I'm buying! (goes to walk off towards the door, before turning back to the computer). Oh, just some random stuff now about this chapter. Then onto reviews. Then my 'being stupid' part begins! Ja!  
  
**----------------------------------------------{I}Notes about the Chapter{I}------------------------------------------  
**  
_**1)** I decided to write this in Takato's P.O.V, since I got a little bored from using the omnisicent style. Although omnisicent is fun. Normally I don't like this style, but since I only used one P.O.V. for this whole chapter, not including the evil snippets at the begining and end, it's not that bad. I think. Flame me if you want- the flames will be used to roast my dinner. Or maybe to heat my shower water. Either way's good.  
  
**2)** Me, being lazy, decided to do the scene with the little 'turn on Rika' part like this. I was going to do something else here, but I think that this is better. I'll have a flashback next chapter, or have the whole chapter be a flashback, to the last bit of the ceremony, which I never finished writing. I think.  
  
**3)** Don't yell at me for making Takato slightly more clueless than usual, or smarter, depending on your opinion of him. Don't yell at me for making Rika hurt and be hurt. Don't yell at me for making Takato dislike Ryo (although, I mean, come on... if some guy's talking about possibly loving the girl you love, AND he accidentally sees her in the shower, how would you feel?). Don't yell at me for not putting in much about the other Tamers- I'll warn you right now that this story, and the whole Warp Fusion series, will center around the goggleheads and their love intrests. I mean the people- not so much the actual relationships. Although they do play a part.   
  
**4)** Don't bug me about putting in hinters and stuff. It helps to hopefully make you guess about what's happening, and what's going to happen in the future.  
  
**5)** Running centers mainly on Takato and Rika's relationship, the obstacles they have to overcome separately and together, and with the rest of the Tamers. Of course, the digimon play a large role in this, as everything digital is the cause and end of many of the obstacles. There's going to be one huge one at the end. That I can promise.  
  
**6)** I will glady do another chapter like this, from any characters P.O.V, if it would help to answer some of your questions- if they can be answered. These are kind of fun to do. Simply tell me in your reviews.   
_  
**----------------------------------------------{I}Replies to Reviews{I}------------------------------------------**  
  
**QuestionDeca:** I have no idea what you're trying to get at... but hey, I just got back from Kitchi, give me a break. My brain's on hold. But I tried to incorporate the idea that I got into this chapter. And I watched the core- that is an awesome movie. I love it.  
  
**John on da' John:** No, don't worry. I can't stand people who aren't actually Tamers, and aren't introduced as Tamers, getting digimon in fanfictions- it can be cool, like in The Absent Years, but I just couldn't do that to this story, and make everything flow together how I want it. Beside- Rin, Leighya, and Heiya are just support characters, stuck in there to cause conflict. And Rika's teacher may or may not be important later in the story, although if you really read that part, and got what I'm hinting at, you should know why. And thats a lot of blahs.  
  
**Marshmellow13Dragon:** I am so shortening your name. M13D sound good? Doesn't matter, that's what I'm calling you. I don't really see the difference between 'Quadrant Hoppers' and 'Dimension Hoppers', but that might just be me... actually, it probably is just me. Anyways, didn't mean to make the last one, or this one, so long- I just have a habit of writing however long I feel like it needs to be. It could be longer- by the time I've finsihed Kingdom's Fate, that story's probably going to be a good sixty pages at least. Hypnos is trying to track Takato, so that they can go after him. But, as I think I wrote in this chapter, Takato's been trying to work against their efforts. And than you SO much for putting me on your favorites list!  
  
**Genna:** Questions, questions... it will happen eventually. Do not worry. And Takato? He and Rika are the main characters. I'm not going to do anything too horific to either of them.  
  
**Endermon:** Ya know, I think that all of Season 3 should be tradgedy after tradgedy... not that it already isn't, as you pointed out, but still... grr... anyways, here's the update! Took me a whole 14 hours to do! (Plus sleep and eating). Rika will become much more confussed and... both like the D.I.Q., and unlike the D.I.Q... if that makes any sense. Which it probably doesn't, so don't mind me. And back to the tradgedy thing? That is my favorite part... !!!!!!  
  
**OmnicromXR:** The Hazard is a very complicated thing... it can be described, used, changed, and warped into many different things, depending on your own thoughts on it. So it's no wonder that it's very rare to find someone who shares your thoughts on it. I just only needed an embodiment for the Hazard, as a symbol, while Takato is floating around in green-ness. Afterwards, it's going to be more than a bit different. I have to agree, Rush made his series end in a tradgedy. But, tradgedies, as stated before, are good things! A lot of things are based off of tradgedies! I'm not going to kill off any of my characters... okay, that was a lie, one of them has to die, but based on people's opinion of them, they won't mind... especially since he doesn't exactly die... yeesh, I'm making this confusing. Just... someone, NOT Takato or Rika or the Tamers, or a human, for that matter is going to die. And it's not Impmon. And leave the plot out fo this! It can definately be a cripling idiot plot, but it's all for the good of the story! I think it is, anyways... Thank you for your compliments, and I never read one of his stories... maybe I should...  
  
**Dapster:** Well, here's your wish! This whole chapter WAS Takato time. And from his P.O.V. And, as I've already stated, the Hazard crest is only for a physical object to temporarily represent the Hazard. Don't worry- it won't last long. Just until Takato gets out of the green-ness.  
  
**azereath:** Running isn't- Warp Fusion is. The first story in W.F. is with 04, the second with 01/02. After that, the stories are going to have to be moved into the 'Anime Crossover' section- that's about when I'll drag MMBN, IY, RK, AMG, and many other animes into it. And you'll see what other responsibilities. Soon, I think.  
  
**GtaJake MK-II:** I'm back, and here's the update. Ta-dah! ...right... anyways, I'll try to make the plot move along with every chapter.. try being the key word. Every once in a while I might need to do a chapter like this, that doesn't really get us anywhere. They won't be very common, though... I'm not entirely sure how long the whole W.F. series is going to be, although I know that, including Running and Secrets, at least six stories- each with probably between 10 and 25 chapters. But I suck at estimating, so don't listen to me.  
  
**bloodykitsune**: DO IT! DO IT! That would be SO funny! I'm STILL laughing about it! ...or maybe that's just the 'CORN!' joke that me and my friend L. have... mreh. NOT you, Ms. Gymnast/Goth/Kenshin, Sesshomaru and Arthur (from the ROM D&D camp) obsessed person! By the way, Hailaia, nice painting... kinda big, though... yeah, back to your review, thanks for it! You really should put that in...  
  
**----------------------------------------------{I}Quotes!{I}------------------------------------------  
**  
**CORN! No, wait... oops... I mean... um... Cucumber! I think...  
**  
**----------------------------------------------{I}Others{I}------------------------------------------**  
  
**_CLICK THE BUTTON!  
  
THE BUTTON!  
  
BUTTON!  
  
!  
  
{forces heads to look at the 'go!' button}  
  
!  
  
BUTTON!  
  
THE BUTTON!  
  
CLICK THE BUTTON!  
_  
----------------------------------------------{I}Song of the Chappie{I}------------------------------------------  
**  
**Makenai Ai ga Kitto Aru from one of the Rockman/Megaman games... have no idea which one, though...  
  
------------------------------------------------------{I}End Log{I}------------------------------------------------------------ **


	7. Tributes

**----------------------------------------------{I}Begin Log{I}------------------------------------------  
**

Well, I finally decided to do another chapter- things are probably going to take longer now, 'cause I realized that Kingdom's Fate is going to be at least three long chapters, and, frankly, I want to finish that as well as keep working on this- so, more than likely, updates will take longer.

**Shila:** LONGER? God, if you take any longer with any chapter than you did between 5 and 6 for Secrets, we'd have to wait a year for another chapter- at least!

**Kay:** Sorry for taking so long. And I heard that There's going to be a fifth season! YEAH!

**Shila:** Any info on this season?

**Kay:** none, but oh well! Now, do the disclaimer!

**Shila:** Or?

**Kay:** Or I shall actually try to figure out a way to break your weapon! And you STILL owe me $50! Now, pay up or do the disclaimer!

**Shila: **Fine... Kay does not own digimon. And maybe not even the plot.

**Kay:** Doubt it... speaking of the plot, is there another story like this one? The closest thing I can think of would be Level 1 and Level 2 by... oh, I totally forget, forgive me oh great authors! (bows again and again and again and again...)

**Shila:** Anyways, before she hurts herself, on with the story!

**----------------------------------------------{I}The Story{I}------------------------------------------  
  
Running  
  
Chapter 7: ?????????  
  
------------------------------------------------{I}Open{I}---------------------------------------------  
**

Rika stared out the window of her classroom, letting her teacher's voice fade into the background. She dimly noted the obvious space around her- everyone had chosen to sit as far away from her as possible, leaving at least one desk space between themselves and her- and those who were unfortunate enough to come in late and have to sit by Rika moved their desks as far away as possible from the red head.

Rika, however, dismissed it all as being below her. Now that someone was doing something about Takato, even if it wouldn't help, she was grateful. The goggleheaded boy couldn't seem to stay out of her thoughts, although what she planned to do when she saw him next was nowhere near giving him a hug.

Like so often as of late, her gaze was brought back to the small island of green in a sea of greys, browns, and black- of course, it was hard not to, as she had a prefect view and it was always in her vision. You couldn't see much from her position, though, other than the tops of the trees. But, somewhere in there was a small speck of grey, a concrete shed, with a whole in the middle of it, and a strange feeling surrounding it.

She kept her eyes glued to where she thought it would be- however, she wouldn't be able to tell from this distance, even if there were no trees or foliage blocking the way.

Rika was about to start on one of her rants about how stupid some trees and plants could be, when she was brought out of her reverie by a loud-

"Nonaka!"

Yes, that. Turning slowly, Rika gazed at her teacher for history, before turning her head towards the clock to check what time it was. Seeing it was almost the end of the day, she turned back to the woman who stood at the front of the class.

"Yeah?"

"Ms. Nonaka, as sorry as I am that I disrupted your thought process," she started, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "I must remind you to keep at least some of your attention on the class. If not, I think a little one-on-one time after school could be easily arranged, ne?"

To this Rika didn't respond, as the bell rang, signalling the end of the day.

Sighing, her teacher turned her attention back to the class as a whole. "Alright. Read pages 137-148 for homework, and answer all questions under "Making Connections" on page 140 and everything in the green rectangle on the left side of the page on page 148. Have a good afternoon class."

"Good afternoon, Sensei!"

**-------------------------------------------------{I}Hypnos!{I}------------------------------------------**

Click. Click.

"Well? Any progress to report on?"

Click. Click.

"We've determined the approximate area where a digital gate could be opened, but only the Tamers, and even then only a select few, would be able to cross it without any worries."

Click. Click. Click.

"I see. And which would that be?"

Click. Click. Click.

"It would stand to reason any of those remaining who could biomerge, but-"

Click. Click. Click. Click.

"I don't like buts. How many?"

Click. Click. Click. Click.

"Only two, sir."

Click. Click. Click. Click.

"Why?"

Click. Click. Click. Click.

"Well, they both have strange patterns in the data that merged with their bodies- it is unlike any we have ever seen, and one only acquired it not too long ago. It's like part of the data has been corupted, or altered to make them more sensitive to other data patterns. There's another side effect, but it's impossible to tell what it is until they're under the right circumstances. And out of the two, I highly doubt that one would be a suitable candidate, due to past trauma."

Click. Click. Click. Click.

"And who is this bad candidate?"

Click. Click. Click. Click.

"Jeri Katou."

Click. Click. Click. Click.

"And the other is...?"

Click. Click. Click. Click.

"Rika Nonaka."

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.

**--------------------------------------------------{I}Rika{I}-----------------------------------------**

Rika groaned as she stretched her arms. It was hard enough trying to keep up all the lies that Hypnos and the government had concocted to keep the Tamers safe and not cause a problem with the majority of the population, let alone trying to figure out all the other problems- like Takato, their partners, and, what was foremost in her mind, Rin and Leighya.

Ever since the two had openly declared to herself and others what they now thought of what happened with D-Reaper, they had been parading around the school, trying to make Rika look like a fool at all possible times.

It certainly didn't help, either, that a few people in her school did know the truth, and those that didn't seemed to be able to seek them out pretty easily. And it definately didn't help that Rin and Leighya had switched to the 'evil' side- they, in her opinion, betrayed her. Now Heiya's gang, and other girls who joined in just for the fun of it, were constantly teasing her, bullying her- and, although Rika wanted dearly to fight back, she knew that she was close to being arrested and sent to juvie- not something she wanted to happen.

So, instead, she kept her emotions bottled up, refusing to let anyone see or know what she was feeling. She made her way off school property, and began her treck home. She was about to enter the downtown core of the city, when her cell rang.

"Rika darling? Is that you?"

Groaning at hearing her mother's voice on the phone, she replied impatiently, "Yes, mother?"

"Please don't take that tone of voice with me young lady!"

"Alright. Fine. What?"

"I'm going to be working late tonight, but your grandmother will be home. Help her with dinner?"

"Sure. Whatever."

"Thanks, honey. Oh, one more thing-"

"What?"

"Would you do me a favor and pick up some bread? You always seem to manage to get the best kind..."

Rika groaned again, realizing what Rumiko was talking about. "It won't be the same bread, but I guess..."

"And why not?"

Rika remained silent. She didn't want to have to explain it.

"Well? I demand an explanation right now, missy!"

"Bye mom!"

And Rika hung up. She knew that Rumiko would be furious at her later, but decided to just ignore it for the time being. Instead, she focused on her dilemma.

_'Okay, now where am I going to get good, fresh- wait a second. T- erm, Gogglehead tought me once how to make bread... now, what did he say went into bread again?'_

And so, Rika made her way to a grocery store, looking for the required ingredients.

**--------------------------------------------------{I}Henry{I}--------------------------------------------**

"Pwease Henwy?! PWEASE?!"

"Okay, okay... just please stop yelling in my ear!"

"YEAH!"

"Suzie! What did I just say?!"

"Sowwy, Henwy! Awe we weaving now?"

"I don't-"

"PWEASE?!"

"Fine! We'll leave right now!"

"Thank you , Henwy!"

The blue haired boy in question just shook his head. "Sure sure... but first, I need to buy something downtown." Seeing his sister's saddened look, he quickly added, "But it's on the way, so afterwards we'll head straight there. Now, you go tell mom or someone where we're going."

"Okay, Henwy!"

And then Suzie skipped happily into the living room, to tell someone that she and Henry were going out.

Henry sighed, and glanced again at the phone as he slid on his shoes. The news was what he called semi-good. However, he could tell that Riley wasn't telling him everything. She had said that a portal was found, and for him to get to Hypnos immediately, with as many Tamers as possible. She would be calling the others to let them know as well.

"Henwy! Awe you weady?!"

"Ready, Suzie... c'mon, let's go."

"YEAH!"

**----------------------------------{I}Downtown, in a grocery store{I}---------------------------**

Rika scanned through what she had with her in her basket, and what she had written down she needed to make a good loaf of bread.

"Okay... so next we need some flour..."

Grabbing the smallest bag of flour she could find (which was still quite big and heavy), she glanced a few more times, and got a few more items.

_'I can't believe I'm thinking this... but it's a good thing that mom let me get a credit card. Smart thinking on her part...'_

She was so preoccupied with trying to find the quickest checkout line, and trying not to spill anything, Rika accidentally bumped into someone. Of course, she immediately blamed the other person.

"Hey, watch where- Brainiac?"

**-----------------------------------------------{I}Hypnos{I}--------------------------------------**

Yamaki growled. He was not happy with the reults- apparently, only one Tamer could actually go through to the digital world- and not the one he would have chosen to go either.

"Isn't there any way to... I don't know, implant the data from either Nonaka or Katou into the others so that they could go?"

"Not that we know of, sir!" Talley called from her seat, back-to-back with Riley.

Yamaki, not happy with the response, turned to Tao, Shibumi and the others.

"Well? What do you think?"

"Talley spoke for us- we don't any possible way that could be even remotely considered safe- and the one way that we don't think would even work, and would definately not be safe, would take over two months to prepare!" Daisy reported for all of them, as the others were too busy working.

Yamaki flipped his lighter open and shut rapidly once again, as he tried to think of some way around their dilemma. "Well, keep me posted, and- what are you doing here? I gave strict orders that no one get in here without my permission, or my superiors."

A young man had just walked into the room, and most of the attention of the scientists and helpers in the main room was now turned on him- the Monster Makers, Riley and Talley, however, did not stop their work, and, as a result, the sound of keys being struck on the keyboard was a constant in the background, as well as a few muted conversations.

The man had brown hair, cut short and spiked upright. He wore a grey business suit, and carried a briefcase with him. He looked the image of a high-class person, and he spoke with a light, crisp voice.

"I am the representative for the company who created the digimon card game, television shows, and everything else to do with the game. My name is Hiota Iehp. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Yamaki." He said, extending his hand.

Yamaki looked him over, took his hand, and almost crushed it in his strong grasp. "The pleasure is all yours. Do you mind telling me what you are doing here?"

Iehp nodded. "Sure. The companies that I represent have all recieved a strange video file, via e-mail, which showed some clips of the events one year. It was titled 'Tamers vs. D-Reaper'. We decided to release what we call 'tribute decks' to what we assume are the 'Tamers'- our artists did the best sketches and action pictures possible to them. We just wanted to make sure that you were informed of this."

Yamaki blanched. "And where did this file come from?"

"As far as we could tell, it came from someone here. We just assumed that you had decided to send us the file for us to do something like this. So, we called here, but apparently none of your workers sent the file out, so we wanted to just tell you that we are going through with this, anyways."

Tao stodd up, and walked over to where Yamaki and Iehp were talking. "You are Hiota Iehp?"

"Yes."

"My name is Janyuu Wong. I was wondering if I could possibly take a look at the file you say you recieved."

"Of course. Here it is. I brought it along in case someone wanted to see it."

Iehp opened his briefcase up, and pulled out a small plastic package, inside of which was a small disc. He gave it to Yamaki, who gave it to Tao, who gave it to Shibumi, who gave it to Daisy, who gave it to Dolphin, who in turn passed it to the other Monster Makers, until it reached Talley and Riley is the high chairs. Each took a moment to examine the disk, before Talley inserted it into a slot, and a viewing window appeared on the main domed screen.

Inside, it started off with just a black screen, before some white lettering faded in, saying 'Tamers vs. D-Reaper'. It then faded out, leaving the screen once again black for about 5 seconds, before it started to show some simple clips of the digimon fighting, and some parts where they were just standing around, talking, arguing, or discussing strategies- as their was no noise, no one could quite tell.

As the clip finished, Tao nodded his head.

"Yes... I know what file this is. Shibumi? Daisy? Look familiar?"

The two nodded their heads. "Yeah. How could we forget those clips? We put it together after all!"

Yamaki turned his gaze to them. "So... you're the ones who gave this disc to _him_?"

Daisy shook her head. "No. Not to him."

"Then who did you give it to?"

Shibumi looked at him. "You know when the Mayor was here, and he was asking all those questions?"

"Yes?"

"We dcided that we needed to show him instead of tell him, and explain to him what he didn't understand. So, we made a quick slide show of different parts from what we had taped, and gave it to his assisstant, who gave it to him. He'd said that he'd look over the file, and then talk to us, but we never heard back."

"And right now I doubt that he saw the whole thing." Tao said with a sigh. "He probably just saw a few seconds, decided he should send it to the companies, and told his asstisstant to do just that."

A few nods around the room signalled that others agreed with the theory. Including Yamaki and Iehp.

"If that is what happened, then I am sorry for not consulting you first to see if it was indeed meant to be here. But still, the tribute packs are already beeing mass produced, and the very first sets made, four different packs for each of the four who saved us, with the rarest cards, which are different and more powerful than any others, including the ones to follow, are already on display at a grocery store not too far away. The prices are amazing, so only a very rich person could possibly afford those packs."

Yamaki thought about it for a moment, then told Iehp, "One moment, please." He walked over to the Monster Makers, and signalled for Riley and Talley to come down from their places, or at least manouver the chairs around, and they all had a whispered discussion.

Iehp could see something being given to Yamaki from everyone, right after they all nodded their heads. The blonde man then turned around to Iehp, handed him back the disc, and told him simply, "We have decided to buy those four special packs that you have on display at this grocery store. You are coming with me, and you are going to explain to the grocer exactly what's going on, while I buy the packs. After you show me where they are. Do you understand?"

"Of course. Are we leaving right now?"

"Yes. Tao, Shibumi, Riley, I'm leaving you three in charge. Continue your work."

"Sure thing, Yamaki! And while you're out, get us some coffee, too!"

Grumbling, Yamaki followed Iehp out of the room, then the building, and into a limo parked out front.

**-------------------------------------------{I}The grocery store{I}--------------------------------**

He glanced up at Rika, surprised to find her there.

"Rika? What are you doing here?"

Getting over her shock, she quickly replied, "My mom asked me to buy some things on my way home. What's it to you?"

Henry shook his head. "Nothing, nothing... oh, there's-"

"Is that your sister?" Rika asked, pointing over Henry's shoulder at Suzie, who was looking at something along the shelves by the cash registers, which had also caught the attention of quite a few others, most looking to be between Suzie's age and probably around 16.

"What's going on, Suzie?" Henry called over to her.

"Henwy! Come qwick an' wook!"

Henry turned back to Rika and shrugged. "When you're finished buying that stuff, do you mind if you come over to there? I need to talk to you."

"Fine Brainiac. You'd better still be here, though."

"I will. It looks like Suzie is becoming super-posesive again."

Henry walked away towards his sister and the gang of kids surounding something, while Rika got into a line. It proved to be a good choice- she had her groceries bought within three minutes, and then walked over to where Henry, Suzie, and the other kids were standing. Henry's eyes were rivited to something on what appeared to be a small T.V., below which, behind glass, were displays of packs of digimon cards.

"So? What's so amazing?" Rika asked, wondering why no one had acknoledged her presence yet.

Henry looked up, startled. "Hm? Oh, Rika. I think you should look at this."

Rika obliged, and looked at what was on the T.V. What she saw made her freeze, not wanting to believe her eyes.

Infront of her, clips from the D-Reapers attack were playing, showing the four megas who had worked so hard to bring the red blob of jell-o [A/N: sorry, had to do that again. I'll probably do that whenever I refer to D-Reaper now, so don't mind me], attacking, slashing, dodging, and always trying to make their way towards the red thing in the distance.

Her attention was then drawn towards the digimon packs at the bottom. They were obviously not starter decks, and, she could only assume, that they were booster packs. However, they were the strangest booster packs she had ever seen.

On the cover of each was either Gallantmon, Sakuyamon, Megagargomon, or Justimon, each in a different pose. There was no real writing on the front, other than something declaring that the figures on the front of the package were called 'Tamers'.

"Henry... what?"

He just shrugged. "I guess that the company who makes the cards heard about what really happened, and decided to show it off by making these, I guess, tribute packs."

"Henwy! Wook! It's y-"

Suzie was cut off quickly as Henry covered her mouth, as a picture of Megagargomon appeared on the screen. "Yes, it's a digimon, Suzie. Now, keep watching in silence, and don't disturb the others watching, alright?"

"Okay, Henwy!"

And she started watching, not making a single noise.

Henry turned back to looking at the packs, which still held Rika's attention. He saw, as if for the first time, price stickers on the packs.

"Holy..." Rika whispered, finished the rest in her head, as there was little kids around her.

"You got that right. I'd have to spend three years allowance if I wanted even one of these."

At that moment, Rika felt tugging on her arm. She ignored it, thinking it was just someone who wanted to see the new packs or what was on T.V., but she found that hard when the person kept tugging, and said, in an almost inaudible whisper, "Excuse me."

She turned to see a young girl and boy standing beside her, an older couple who looked like their parents or grandparents behind them. The two had a pen and paper in both hands, and were looking at her expectantly.

"Yeah?"

"Cna we have your autograph?" Asked the girl, the one who had apparently asked, based on her voice.

Rika blinked, stunned. Henry, hearing them, looked over and sweatdropped at the scene. A few people around them immitated Rika's or Henry's motions.

The woman hurried over. "I'm sorry. I thought that they just wanted to come see what was going on." She then turned to the two children, and began scolding them. "It's not nice to just walk up to someone and ask for their autograph. You need to respect people's privacy, you little nips. Come along."

However, Suzie seemed to know who they were. "Henwy! These awe fwiends fwon school!" She said, while darwing her attention away enough to see what was going on.

And at this Henry groaned. Of course, nearly everyone at his school, including the younger grades, knew about the Tamers, since everyone had been watching on T.V. on that fateful day- and had a special connection, since known Tamers went to the school.

Rika, however, had no idea why they would want an autograph.

And neither did the crowd.

"Why would you want an autograph of her? She's just another girl."

Rika did not recognize the voice, but she definately knew the one right after it.

"Iehp, I think you need some more history lessons, as long as you don't plan on making them into more tribute packs."

Both Rika and Henry spun around simultaneously.

"Yamaki!"

"The one and only. Now, if you two would please move out of the way, myself and the others at Hypnos have decided to buy these tribute packs. These are them, Iehp?"

The other man nodded, but then shook his head. "These are just the wrapers, with older decks stuffed inside. The real first editions should be in the back, being kept safe in a safe. Come on, we need to talk to the manager."

"Of course. Rika, Henry... Suzie, would you like to accompany us?"

The other man, whom everyone guessed was Iehp, paused. "Why would we take these children with us?"

Not only Rika's, but Yamaki's and Henry's eye brow twitched hearing that. "Chi-"

"Wait!" Everyone turned around to see another boy, the one who had asked why someone would want Rika's autograph, step forward. "Aren't you Hiota Iehp, representative for everything to do with digimon?"

Iehp grumbled, but nodded. Turning on his heel, he signalled Yamaki and the Tamers to follow him, but another voice called out, "Wait!"

"What?" Rika asked, turning around, only to find that she was facing the two children again. "Yes?"

"Can we have your autograph?"

Rika rolled her eyes. Henry stepped forward. "Rika, might as well."

"Fine, Brianiac..." she took the pens, and signed the pieces of paper, before returning the pens, and straightening up. As she did so, she muttered so that others could barely hear, "If Gogglehead were here, he'd probably laugh and do something stupid, all the while still signing these things."

Henry went quiet, as did Rika when she realized what she had said. Both turned and followed Yamaki, who hadn't heard what Rika said, and Suzie, who waved good-bye to her friends.

Iehp led them around the back, to a small office. Inside sat a kindly looking old man, with gray hair and a huge bald spot in the middle of his head. He wore square-shapped glasses on the end of his nose, and looked to be almost waiting for them.

"Ah, welcome Iehp, and these friends of your, too. I know who you are- Yamaki Mitsou, Rika Nonaka, Henry Wong, and Suzie Wong. Come in, sit down."

Iehp sat down gracefully, while the other four were on their guard- how could this man have known about them?

"You are wondering how I know about? Let's just say I have a little grand daughter about your age, and she's been going on for over a year now about you, and some of her friends from school- people by the name of Kazu, Kenta, Jeri, and Takato."

Rika froze when she heard the last name, while Yamaki and Henry did similar actions.

"Of course, the boy names Takato hasn't apparently been there for a while, so I assume something happened to him during or after this latest attack."

"And who is your grand daughter?" Yamaki asked the man.

"Have you ever met a Nikky?"

Henry and Suzie nodded, while Rika and Yamaki just looked a bit confussed.

"Everyone, this is one of the most powerful people in Tokyo- he owns more stores and restaurants that you could count. Mr. Ishu, please meet... well, you know who they are, so Yamaki, and you children, meet Engra Ishu." Iehp said, saying the word 'children' in a way that made it obvious he did not like them.

Ishu only indicated other chairs scattered around the room.

"Please, sit. So, I assume that you've come for the tribute packs?"

Yamaki nodded, while he began to search in his coat pocket for the money. "Yes. I would like to buy all four of the first edition packs."

"And who might these packs be going to?"

"Who they rightfully belong to by heritage." Yamaki said simply.

"I see..." Ishu nodded. "Of course they would. Why shouldn't they? And since they saved our lives, I'm going to give you a discount- all together they would be nearly 500, 000 yen, but I think you deserve them for a total of only 100, 000 yen. Don't you think that's fair?"

Yamaki nodded. "Yes."

Iehp, however, did not. "What do you mean, a discount? You should sell them for the whole 500, 000 yen Ishu! Thing of the money!"

"You can think of the money, Iehp, I'm thinking of my family. We both stand to make a nice little profit, even if I sell them for 50, 000 yen. It won't hurt me- you gave these packs to me to sell. So, whether I make money off them or not doesn't effect me that much. However, as they are currently mine, I can decided how much to sell them for. So, please, calm down. Now, Mr. Yamaki, while I get the cards, do you mind getting out some money? Iehp, would you please come with me, I'll need some help to open the safe."

As both Iehp and Ishu left the room, Rika and Henry turned to Yamaki, both digging in their pockets for any spare change. Both held out what they could find.

"Yamaki, if you're buying those cards, then we might as well pitch in, too." Henry told him. Rika nodded, refusing to say anything.

Yamaki looked at the both of them. Then he looked at what was in their hands. Then he looked at them again. "You expect 1000 yen is going to make alot of difference? Besdies, I already got money from your father, Henry, and Riley and Talley, and the Monster Makers. I have enough here for the original price."

Both were surprised by that, and were about to question him more when the door opened, and in walked Ishu, who held the door open for Iehp, who followed him carrying a safe.

As Ishu shut the door, he explained, "I don't like opening the safe outside this office, and yet there's no room in here for it. So, I have to carry it back and forth. I'm glad that this young man is here to carry it for me! Now, set it down over there, Iehp, no, not on the floor, just put it ontop of the table, yes, there, and if you'll excuse me..."

He moved over to the safe, and worked for a good five minutes before it was open. Inside was a number of very random things, and, after digging through it, Ishu found a small package. Opening it up, he pulled out the four packs, which had obviously never been opened. He showed them to Yamaki who nodded in acceptance, then put them back in the package, and gave them to the blond man. Yamaki, in return, gave him 100, 500 yen- Rika and Henry forced their money into the old man's hands as he took Yamaki's.

Ishu smiled, and nodded. "Here you are, then. Now, I hope you don't mind, but an old man like me needs a nap every once in a while, and this would be a perfect time."

"Of course, Mr. Ishu." Henry said, then led Suzie out of the office. Rika was not too far behind them, looking out of the corner of her eye. She did not trust Iehp, that was for certain, but Ishu seemed certainly like a nice enough man. Yamaki and Iehp followed them, having a whispered conversation.

They walked out into the street, and saw a limo parked there. It was only then that Henry remembered why he was heading downtown _with Suzie_ in the first place.

"Oh! Rika! I just remembered- we're wanted at Hypnos."

She blinked, and looked at him. "Why?"

"Something about the portal. Riley didn't give me too many specifics."

"And you had to bring Suzie?"

"Yup. We're all wanted- even Jeri."

"And when were you planning on telling me this?"

"Erm, well..."

"Wong, Wong, Nonaka?" Yamaki interupted their argument. Suzie just stood by Henry, wondering what was going on.

"Yes Yamaki?" Henry asked, as Rika stayed silent.

"You are indeed requested to be at Hypnos immediately. I have just asked Iehp if you would be allowed into the limo."

"And?"

"And you are to come with us. Iehp gladly accepted after he found out that you are the digimon 'Queen', Nonaka."

Rika snorted. "Good for him. Are we going now?"

Yamaki nodded, and pointed to the open door beside him. Quickly, Rika, Henry and Suzie piled into the limo, where Iehp sat waiting, and as soon as the door was closed, they rocketed off into the trafic.

****

**-----------------------------------------------{I}Ending notes{I}--------------------------------------  
  
Kay:** And there we go, another chapter. I'm surprised I was able to finish- usually, it takes me a bit longer then less than 12 hours to write something, and this was with me running around, cleaning the house, unpacking, packing, answer twenty million phone calls.

**Shila**: And why were there so many phone calls?

**Kay**: Because my uncle was on his bike, and a car hit him, and he was in surgery today, and so all my family (which is a lot) was calling here, and I think I filled up at least ten pages in my note pad here with notes, and my uncles status and stuff, so that I could give updates.

**Shila**: And while you did that, I found my weapon!

**Kay**: are you sure it's your weapon?

**Shila**: Yup! Under the couch is never a good hiding place, Kay!

**Kay**: Under the... I didn't hide ANYTHING under the couch, let alone your weapon.

**Shila**: really? Then what's THIS?! (holds out something that looks like her weapon, but-)

**Kay**: Hey, where'd do find that!?

**Shila**: See?! It's my weapon!

**Kay**: no, that's my new hair straightener...

**Shila**: Really?

**Kay**: Yes...

**Shila**: Really?!

**Kay**: Yes.

**Shila**: Really really?!?!?!

**Kay**: YES!

**Shila**: okay, okay... so, you waiting for KFC right now?

**Kay**: yup. Oh, I actually found the lyrics to the song from the AMG movie.

**Shila**: which one?

**Kay**: In the movie the chapter is called 'The Goddess song' or something along those lines, but it's actually called 'Coro di dea'- 'Voices of Goddesses'.

**Shila**: Same difference. So, sing it!

**Kay**: Just because I found the lyrics doesn't mean I can sing it.

**Shila**: Why?

**Kay**: Because I can't even speak latin, let alone sing it!

**Shila**: oooh.....

**Kay**: right... let's get on with the notes and reviews!

**---------------------------------------{I}Notes about the Chapter{I}---------------------------------  
  
1) I have absolutely NO idea who makes the digimon card game, but I'm pretty sure it's not the same company that makes the anime. So, I decided to just... not... mention the name. If anyone knows what it is, though, feel free to tell me.**

**2) More OCs! ...I think I like OCs. I have no idea why. I would use the characters, but they never really mention a store and business tycoon or a representative for the digimon companies in the show, do they?**

**3) I was thinking last night, and I thought of two things that didn't really have to do with the chapter, and not nesecairily with the story, but the whole serries in general. And I forgot both, and just remembered one. Okay? okay. So, here it is:**

**There's a lot of controversy, or at least arguing, going on about the realms and the quadrants. The fact of the matter, as far as I can tell, is that it is never said in season 3 whether the Azulongmon in Tamers is the same Azulongmon in Adventure (or season 2). So, you could really go either way. But here is what I'm using in this story:**

**It's going to... mix up the deffinitions a bit. And yes, it will be confussing, even to me, so try to follow. There's going to be two sets of 'quadrants'. This is where grammar and spelling really count. There's the Quadrants, and then there's the quadrants. See? One has a capital 'Q', and the other a small case 'q'. The Quadrants are the different sectors that are shown in season 3- Northern Quadrant, Southern Quadrant, Western Quadrant, Eastern Quadrant, with Ebonwumon, Zhuqiaomon, Baihumon and Azulongmon. The quadrants are in fact the different realms- Adventure, Tamers and Frontier, as well as I think whatever season 5 will be. However, the last realm (the one parallel to the Northern Quadrant), is only going to be mentioned, so we don't really care about that one. Each of the four realms are parallel to a Quadrant, so whatever goes on in the realm has a direct effect on the correponding Quadrant, and whatever goes on in one Quadrant has a direct effect on the rest. ...I think I should do a little sketch to explain, so I'll post the link to it on my user profile. It should help make a but more sense. **

**Now, enough blabbering from me, if I remember the other thing I was thinking of, I'll put it in the next chapter. Onto Reviews!  
  
-----------------------------------------{I}Replies to Reviews{I}------------------------------------**

**_goldfish demon_: really? hmm... then I wish you good luck next time, 'cause here's the update! Have fun!**

**_DC_: man, I like your name now. So... easy! Anyways... I think that next time, tape Blackterriermon's mouth shut, since me, with my small brain that was put on 'pause' the moment I got out of school, took a while to make sense of your review (gomen!). Anyways, I'll explain the 'controlling people's minds' thing in another reply to QuestionDeca. And Rika won't exactly 'stumble' upon the portal- it'll be something more of a fall...**

**_GtaJake MK-II_: Eh, I'm glad you enjoyed it. And no, I'll only do POV chapters once in a while- one for every... I dunno, 6? 10? somewhere around there.... As I think I told you at least once before, a character will die at the end- and I just remembered something else I was thinking of last night: I'm going to do two endings- the first will be the one that I'd continue from, the not-so-depressing, and the second being the one that I make, or try to make, really depressing. So, you can read one, or the other, or both, or you could just plain not read altogether! Just since I'm not Takato :). And really, replying to all that email is boring? Hm... I would be laughing my head off at it all. :):):):). Ja!**

**_QuestionDeca_: What do ya know, a kinda-short review, and a super-long reply. Anyways, about you calling Takato a demi-god... frist off, I'm just going to tell everyone out there that my intention is to NOT make Takato a god. That is a definate. The real reason why Takato could do that is one of my theories. I have about ten for each show that I watch or manga that I read, but I think I have almost thirty for Tamers. Go figure, huh? **

**Anyways, since I'm too lazy to actually look up the scientific mumbo-jumbo, here it is in laymens terms: In digimon, everything has to do with data (that goes without saying). Because of the Tamers closeness to their partners, and the fact that all of them have been to the digital world, means that they have data in their bodies, making up a part of them. Making up part of the very structure- not just the physical, but also the mental. If you count, or just try to figure out how much excess data is floating around in the air from digimon who were destroyed but the data was never absorbed, and other sources (like... gates and computers), there must be some in each person. Technically, it would only cover or surround them, but if they were exposed enough to it, or to someone who has excess amounts in their own system, say... Rika, then it stands to reason that their bodies would slowly absorb the data, intigrating it into themselves. So, since Heiya was Rika's tormentor, and Rin and Leighya her friends, they would be around Rika more than the normal human being (Tamers not being considered normal here). Therefore, they would have more data in their system than a normal person, and therefore, more easily manipulated. Now, why do I say that? It's ANOTHER of my theories: one of about five that have to do with the Hazard. So here it is.**

**One opinion of the Hazard was that it was created along with Guilmon as nothing more than a part of his system. Another is that it was created at the begining of time to create a balance- the Hazard being Destruction, and the Catalyst being Evolution. And there are others, and, depending on the person, even these opinions can get warped. The one that I shall refer to is the one where it's sole purpose is to corrupt, control, and destroy- CCD. That is the one that I'm going to use... the most in this story, although there will be others used... just not as much. Now, since I gave Takato the ability to use the Hazard, with or without Guilmon, I thought that I might as well show at least two of it's uses right off the bat. The Hazard needs to have a target- whether it be to control, corrupt or destroy. So, it would need to enable it's user to see different targets, and choose which target they want- hence the viewing screen. After that, it's simply the users choice which main function they want to use (if you don't know what functions, here: CCD. There. If you still don't know, you're hopeless... no offense). SO, in relation to the story, Takato chose to only control Rika, Heiya, Rin and Leighya. And the natural surroundings, too, if you want to be picky. Why? Because they all either were covered in data, or have some data that makes up their structures. It was simply a matter of letting the Hazard run it's course that caused the effects. As for what BlackTerriermon dubbed the 'mind control', it was a combination of controling and corruption- which the Hazard over-did. Significantly. **

**Anyways, I'm glad that no one knows where this story is going, 'cause then it'll be a surprise! And I like surprises!**

**_SR71will_: No, I'm just going to leave it like this- Takato in the green thing, Rika being Rika, and no one doing anything. OF COURSE IT'S GOING TO GO SOMEWHERE! [hmm-hmm] now that I've got that out, yes, Takato is going to get out of the green thing- it would be kind of a boring story if he just stayed in there and waited to be rescued, don't cha think? And yes, we- erm, you are going to find that out... actually, I've already mentioned it once (cookies, cakes and other really good food, or whatever you want, to the first person who can tell me where!). **

**_BloodyKitsune_: Well, I didn't do this one in Rika's POV, but the next POV chapter I do will be in hers, okay? Just for you, so that you aren't so depressed any more! ;)! And I can't wait to read that... it would be interesting if there was a sleep over, if you get where I'm going with that... [hinthintwinkwink]. Hope you get inspired to write!**

**_hmr_: well, here's your update! You like? I hope so... and sorry for my rant in QD's reply, and the notes!**

**_Zeromaru_: Chaos Mode: GO MEGIDRAMON! ...I suddenly want to write a battle royal story with the four Great Dragons... NO! MUST... FINISH... THIS... STORY! [gasps] okay, I'm good now. And, as I said in the rant/reply, there's different theories, as you've also pointed out. I have a few main ones, but I can understand and accept all the different ones... even the ones where teh Hazard assumes a human form, or a conciousness (especially when it's in Takato's head... you have to admit, Rush does write depressing stuff, but it can certainly be funny!). Anyways, I'm glad that I caught your attention, and I hope I keep that attention!**

**_WingLiger496_: Hey! I like strange things! Hehe... there should be more strange things in the world! ...it's not fun being only one of a few strange things... ;););):):):)!**

**_OmnicromXR_: Hmm... well, I know that I'll incorporate those, although it might be a while before they're really obvious. And philosopher mode isn't bad- it just makes you come up with theories! And theories are fun! ...as I've proved countless times (ask my religion teacher). Even though I have no idea what you were saying in the one part (I not only suck at latin, but also any language that isn't English, French, Japanese or Jibourishk (don't ask)), I have to agree- for me, Tamers was by far the best season, if only because that they WEREN'T fighting this huge, big evil menace, and it focused more on the relationships between characters, theories (YEAH!), and, most importantly (to me), different concepts of life. That was the thing that really made me watch Tamers, from 'Digimon are just data' to 'Humans are only worthy to be digimon's slaves' to 'organic matter AND data must be destroyed!' (bet you can't figure out the different parts by that, huh?). All that mixed with the small, humourus parts, the fighting, and it just made Tamers a really enjoyable serries for me. But that's just me. ...You seem to blame Lain for a lot of things, don't you? And I've never read any of their stories, but I'm not going to now, either. And thanks for the blessing. Muses usually smile on me in an evil way... especially when I do something they don't like...**

**_Angel of Mana (AoM)_: Why, thank you. Just make sure to keep Terriermon away from DC's... I'm afraid of what would happen then... and your stories are good, too. Ja!**

**_Dapster_: Yes, Takato time is good. You know why? 'cause he's Takato! HAHAHA! ...yeah, I'll stop now... oh, there wasn't any Takato time this chapter, because next chapter is when there's going to be quite a bit of it... with my writing style, it'll probably take a good fifty pages at least to get both that and the part in the real world. Hehe, sorry. What would be a better way... I KNOW! Look down at the message that I always have, and you'll see what I mean, kk?**

**_Endermon_: I mentioned it in the begining author's notes, but to what does this look familiar? Just since it's summer, and I've become extremely slow... and insane, for that matter... hehehehe.... wow... nice and deep there... you mind if I put that with some of my theories? But it's true what you said. There's a good example of it in Rush's fics, and I'll try to incorporate it into mine more as time (and chapters) go on. And that's an idea... but, I've already come up with something... mreh. I'm sure I can come up with another reason for a biomerge, right? Maybe a longer, or extra chapter, and it should be all good... **

**_To everyone who reviewed_: Thank you all so much! Reviews are what keep me writing, and the suggestions I get usually find their way into my story somehow. They actually help me from having writers block... the main reasons why I'd take a while to update are laziness, over work, or trying to figure out how to fit the good ideas into the story. So, thank you thank you thank you, Arigatou minna! May the Gods and Goddesses, Muses, Spirits and the Lord look down on you with kindness and prosperity!**

**----------------------------------------{I}More random notes!{I}-------------------------------------**

**Shila: **What they hell was that last bit? "Look down on you with prosperity"? And why did you write 'Gods and Goddesses'? I though you are a Roman Catholic!

**Kay**: I am. So?

**Shila**: So? SO?! Doesn't that go against your religion or something?

**Kay**: It does, but other cultures and religion have more than one God, and besides...

**Shila**: What?

**Kay**: I was reading the DaVinci code (which is an awesome book), and found out some history about my religion that makes me question it. True, it's a lot better today than two, three thousand years ago, but a lot of the misconceptions, lies and stories are still around today- vilain was actually the name for villagers in France (two and three thousand years ago, mind) who practised paganism (the worshiping of nature and the spirits), which was and still is considered the devil's practice because you do not worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The pentacle, the ultimate sign of pagaism (PHI!), is considered evil, because of it's relation to paganism.

**Shila**: Um... PHI?

**Kay**: YUP! My new favorite number... it is the only real law that nature- including humans- abides by.

**Shila**: 'PHI' is not a number.

**Kay**: Okay, Ms. Picky, it's the NAME of a number: 1.618. Apparently (too lazy to try), if you measured yourself from the top of your head to your feet, then divide by the distance from your belly button to your feet (more specific- bottom of your feet), you get 1.618. Do the same with shoulder to end of middle finger / elbow to end of middle finger, and you get the same. PHI is an awesome number.

**Shila**: ...right...

**Kay**: I just discovered that there's a 'center' button on here! YEAH!

**Shila**: (sarcastically) great...

**-----------------------------------------------{I}Quotes!{I}-------------------------------------------**

**"I hope you found a home for that box." -Takehiro Matsuki (Matsuda Takehiro), father of Matsuda Takato, Episode 3: "_To Fight Or Not To Fight_"**

****

------------------------------------------------{I}Others{I}-------------------------------------------

  
  
_CLICK THE BUTTON!_

**_THE BUTTON!_**

**_BUTTON!  
  
{bright, annoying lights in bright, annoying colors start flashing all around the button}  
  
BUTTON!  
  
THE BUTTON!  
  
CLICK THE BUTTON!_**

**_  
  
_  
--------------------------------------{I}Song of the Chappie{I}-------------------------------------**

**Well, since we were talking about it, 'Coro di dea'- 'Voices of Goddesses'. Love that song- the lyrics are at http: www. animelyrics. com / anime / ams / corodidea. htm (without the spaces). Have fun trying to pronounce the words! ...I try, and I can't really... but 'c's apparently make a sound like a 'k'....**

**------------------------------------------------{I}Next Chapter{I}--------------------------------------**

**Takato gives up on waiting for outside help, Iehp gets burned (not litterally), the tribute packs are handed out, and Rika ends up with Takato's. Why? Maybe that's why Yamaki wants that private talk with her's and Jeri's families...  
  
-----------------------------------------------{I}End Log{I}-----------------------------------------**


	8. Planning

**----------------------------------------------(I)Begin Log(I)-----------------------------------------**

Well, hello, howdy-do, and all that crap.

**Shila: **...you are not happy?

**Kay:** Do YOU want four different projects, all given on the same day, all due in the same week, on the same day?

**Shila:** ...I thought that your school is semestered.

**Kay:** And your point is...?

**Shila:** Wouldn't that be one project per subject?

**Kay:** Why yes, yes it would. Science: 'Owl Pellet Disection lab report', Careers: 'You'll be seeing me' poster (TWO PIECES OF BRISTOL BOARD MUST BE FILLED UP MY ASS! YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT IS?!), and 'Personality quiz- answer questions 1-23 on pages 76-82, and write a breif report about your answers'. History: Ten diary entry journals on immigrating in 1905 from Italy to Canada, and English: Newpaper report and Essay about school uniforms, Essay about the Literacy Test (which is at the end of October...), and Essay about your choice of topic. So, technically, that's... 1, 2, 3... 8 THINGS DUE! And if we count the History journals sepparately, it comes to... 17, me thinks.

**Shila:** Right... are you going to get on with writing this story soon?

**Kay:** yeah yeah yeah... sorry I took so long, I don't own digimon or anything else mentioned, and if Shila says ONE THING about anything during this whole things, she is going to be banned from my house for at least a week.

**Shila:** meep...

**--------------------------------------------------(I)Open(I)-------------------------------------------**

**Running**

**Chapter 8: Planning**

**------------------------------------------------(I)Start story(I)---------------------------------------**

_'Why do I get the feeling that the next time I see green I'm going to go insane?'_

Yes, those were Takato's exact thoughts on his predicament. He had decided to shut his eyes for the moment, until he could deal with more green. Oh yes, he was not enjoying himself. At first he had been fine with it, only because it was _at first_. However, you find that after a while you bore of some things- and having never changing, continuous green is one of the things that you bore of faster than others. And Takato was no exception.

_'Okay, options: erm, well... I can't think to myself.'_

Giving up on trying to do everything in his head, he opened his eyes, refusing to concentrate on the green.

"Right, so now let's list my options: one, I can sit, er, float, erm... stay here until someone comes and gets me, or this thing gets tired of having me in it. Or two, I can actually try to get out myself. Well, this shouldn't be too hard to figure out."

Takato glanced around. He knew for a fact that although this thing didn't let him see outside, it was still, originally at least, a data stream. Which meant that if he picked a direction, and tried to move along it, he would either be sucked into the real world, pounded into the ground, or, more than likely, fall out in what, he assumed, would be a none-too graceful way.

"Let's see... inny minny miny moe... nah, that doesn't work... erm... let's try... forward!"

And, true to his word, Takato willed his body to move forward. And it didn't work.

"Okay... so... let's... try moving my arms and legs!"

Takato then began trying to move in a walking motion, trying to go somewhere. He moved an inch or so, but then grew tired. "Right, what- oh! Swimming!"

And right after that, he positioned himself so that his stomach was facing what he thought was down, and began doing the front crawl. He noticed that he did move faster, so instead he tried the back crawl. However, that was no faster than the walking motion. So, flipping back over, he began doing what could be loosely considered the Breast Stroke.

And, to his surprise, he began moving quickly. As he beagn to pick up the pace, he found himself moving faster and faster away from what he hoped was the centre of the green thing. After a while, he began loosing energy, and, as such, speed. Willing himself to continue, he pushed his body to the limit, as he felt the green thing's border coming nearer. Shutting his eyes, he continued his cross-stream swim, until he lost conciousness.

The last thing Takato felt was something that he hadn't felt in a while.

Gravity.

**-----------------------------------------(I)Real World (Hypnos)(I)---------------------------------**

Rika, Henry, Suzie, and Yamaki stepped out of the limo. Iehp was about to get out as well, but Yamaki quickly turned to him.

"Mr. Iehp. From now on, this is Private business, so I'm afraid that you're going to have to go home, or your office, or where ever you came from. Ja." Yamaki, slaming the door and almost breaking Iehp's fingers, didn't sound all that bad about it at all.

Rika watched as the limo drove off, and Yamaki turned towards them. He seemed to regard Rika, then Henry and Suzie for a few moments, as though comparing Rika to the siblings. Shaking his head, he ushered them all inside.

"Will you all hurry it up? We're late, if you hadn't noticed."

The two teens and pre-teen let themselves be steered into Hypnos, not really sure what else they were supposed to do. However, when they were in the elevator on their way up, Rika turned to Yamaki.

"Alright, what's going on, Yamaki?"

"Always straight to the point...." Henry muttered, as Yamaki regarded Rika again before answering.

"Well, Ms. Nonaka, I hope the you and the other Tamers are prepared for this."

Confussed at Yamaki's words, they remained silent, Rika fuming about not being able to get out of Yamaki what was going on.

It didn't take that long to find out.

They entered the Hypnos confrence room just as everyone else started to sit down. Riley looked relieved.

"Yamaki, glad you're here."

"We thought we might have to send out a rescue team to find you, Rika, Henry and Suzie."

As they all took a seat around the table, Ryo just so happened to notice something.

"Hey, Rika... what's with the shopping bags?"

Indeed, Rika still had her bags from the grocery store with her. She glared at Ryo for asking a question before replying stiffly, "My mother asked me to get some food on the way home, Mr. Perfect- not that it's any of your business, because it's not!"

He flinched, and decided that talking to Rika for the remained of the day was not in his best interests.

Although others were wondering what was wrong with Rika, there were other problems to deal with. Namely, "What are we doing here?" Kazu asked, annoyed that he had been taken away from his all-time favorite video game (which he was beating quite well, too).

Yamaki glanced at him, before turning to the Monster Makers and all the scientists who had conveened in the room. "Janyuu?"

Said Monster Makers stepped forward, and began talking, after looking his son, Rika, and Jeri over once. "We found a way to get someone into the digital world- however, only two of you would possibly be able to go."

Both Ryo and Kazu misunderstood Janyuu's words.

"Well, it should be that hard to get the others in, right?" Ryo asked, a light smile on his face.

"Yeah! I mean, can't you just put more power into the gate to make it bigger?"

Janyuu sighed in frustration, while all the others either smacked their heads, groaned, or also sighed. "No, we cannot 'make it bigger', Kazu." Daisy said, trying to suppress another groan at Kazu's next statement.

"Then just hold it open for longer!"

By now, the other Tamers had understood that the gate they would be entering would be different than the last one they used- however, Kazu didn't quite understand that little bit of info.

"No, Kazu, we can't do that either."

Kazu looked confused. "Not enough energy?"

"NO!"

"Alright... I was just trying to be helpful..."

Henry decided to be a voice of reason, and ask a sensible question. "The gate is obviously different from the last one, right?"

The Monster Makers and Scientists nodded their heads, getting ready for another stupid question.

"But, why is it that only two can go through?"

A loud chorus of sighs swept through the room, due to the fact that it was not a stupid question. However, no one seemed to want to answer it. After about five seconds of people looking around nervously, Shibumi finally decided to say something.

"Well... it seems that due to a large, system-wide warping of the basic cross-dimesional data streams, portals and gates, and the quotient of carbon-to-data has changed so much in the last little while, that everything has become affected, and that only two Tamers can get through, due to their own, special, molecular structure, as their bio-pattern matches that of said streams, portals, and gates."

Everyone blinked at him, including most of the scientists and some Monster Makers, and the Tamers. Except for Henry.

"So... what makes the two molecular structures so different?"

"Their basic pattern and make-up of data and carbon has been re-arranged, changed, and slightly corrupted, causing their inner stability to change and fluxuate continuously, although the change is impossible to tell on the outside- even their personalities are not affected."

Many more blinks later, Kazu finally shook his head. "I didn't understand a single word of that, dude."

Nearly everyone else sweat dropped. Rika simply sat with her arms crossed over her chest, Henry nodding his head, and Yamaki, Talley, Riley, Janyuu and Daisy nodding as well.

Shibumi sighed with frustration, and opened his mouth to explain it again, when Janyuu put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe let someone else...?" Shibumi did not seem to like the idea, but nodded, and let Henry take over.

"Okay... apparently, things have changed a lot, both here and in the Digital World." A round of nods greeted this statement. "So, because of this, the gates and portals have changed as well, and will only allow those who... have the same bio-pattern to access them?" He sounded unsure about the last part, making it into a question. Shibumi nodded, signalling for Henry to continue.

"And only two of us Tamers have the proper bio-patterns, but it's not noticable on the outside- nothing changes. Not their appearance, or their personalities."

More nodding from everyone, and a not-so-discreet coment from Shibumi ("How is he able to explain things so simply?") met Henry's ears.

Rika still hadn't moved from her spot. She appeared to be focused on something else entirely, but her mind was very much on what was going on. 'Only two? Well, if the bio-patterns are really warped, then it's probably puppet girl. Wonder who the other is, though? Be good to get rid of another one of these annoy-'

"Nonaka?"

She started and looked up into Yamaki's eyes.

"What?"

The blonde man just shook his head. "Would it be so hard for you to concentrate on what we're talking about?"

She made a hissing noise before settling down again. Riley and Talley took the stage then.

"We'll call everyone into a side room, so that we can talk in private to them. If you want to tell the others about what we tell you, then it will be your choice." Talley said with a small smile on her face.

Riley nodded. "But, does anyone know what could have caused them to warp?"

Everyone was silent. However, they were all coming to the same conclusion, if the look on Jeri's face was any indication on what it could possibly be.

"Hazard..." Jeri whimpered, before looking for some kind of comfort- and finding it in Henry's arms, who just happened to be sitting next to her- again. He blushed, and awkwardly wrapped his arms around har, patted her back uncomfortably, while Kazu and Kenta couldn't resist a few snickers.

Suzie, Ai and Mako were looking at Henry and Jeri confused, before turning back to whatever they were doing.

Riak rolled her eyes, before standing up and grabbing her bags. "Well? Are you going to talk to us now? I need to get home."

Yamaki nodded, while the others immitated him. "Of course, Nonaka, but we're going in a randomly selected order, and it just so happens that you are one of the last. Please take a seat."

Grumbling, Rika sat back down, trying to come up with as many curses as possible and mutter them under her breath.

Standing up, the Monster Makers and other assorted Scientists began to move around- the entire group of the Monster Makers, Riley, Talley, and one or two other Scientists moved into a side room where it seemed to be very dark, while everyone else just went back to work.

Jeri continued to strangle Henry, Suzie and Mako continued to play, Kazu challenged Ryo to a card deul while Kenta watched, and Rika sat there, unmoving. She fingered her card deck, and was trying to think of what cards would be in the Sakuyamon Tribute pack, and how she could incorporate them into her own deck.

'Hmm... wonders what's in the other decks... the Gallantmon Tribute Pack will probably have a ton of rare cards...'

Kenta, thinking that Rika fingering her deck was a sign that she wanted to play, walked over to her and asked in a slightly nervous voice, "Do you want to play?" He asked, gesturing to her cards which were now in her hands.

She eyes him, before sighing. "Give me something to do at least..." She hissed, and was about to shuffle her deck, as was Kenta, when Talley poked her head out of the side room.

"Kenta! You're up first!"

Gulping, the bespectacled boy nodded, put away his cards, and walked in the side room. The door was closed as soon as he set foot inside, and (for about once second) silence reined over the main room, before the chatter started up again.

This happened a few more times, Suzie then Ai and Mako, and Kazu being summoned as well, in about that order.

Eventually, Rika was left with Ryo, Henry and Jeri for company, although Jeri still had Henry in a slightly weaker death grip.

"Ryo?" Talley called. He nodded, stood up, and walked into the room.

Rika noticed that he was in there for a quite a while longer than the others, but she wasn't sure what to make of it. But, then again, she only assumed that he was in there longer- there was obviously another exit, which they all left through. Maybe he had already left, and they were just talking about what to say next.

Her musing was interupted by Talley, who stuck her head out. "Henry?"

He went to get up, but Jeri kept her death hold on him, and was instead dragged into the room- which left Rika the last person.

"Great... why am I last? And WHY am I talking to myself?!"

She fummed, as she waited for an unnaturally long time, before she finally heard the door open, and Talley peered out. "Ri-"

"Coming..." Rika muttered, as she gathered her bags, and brought them into the room.

As she entered, she noticed a strange silence within the room. Janyuu did not look happy- actually, almost everyone didn't look happy. And the few that didn't look mad, sad or depressed had an indifferent look on their faces, as though they were trying to distance themselves from whatever was about to happen.

"Nonaka. Sit down." Yamaki said simply, as he motioned her to a seat at the opposite end of the table than he was sitting at. As she did, she noticed a door behind her seat- where, she assumed, everyone had left through.

"What?" She asked him, quickly loosing her patience.

"Can you turn off your cellphone first?" Riley asked, one of the indifferent ones. Rika, grumbling, pulled out her phone, and hit the 'off' switch, before returning it to her pocket.

"Now what?"

One large sigh swept through the room, as everyone seemed to be almost relieved now about something. Rika's eye twitched- what could they possibly be relieved about?

"Rika Nonaka... you are a Tamer?"

Her eye twitched again. "Yeah... so what?"

"You are Sakuya?"

"You mean Sakuyamon? Well, me and Renamon are, but shouldn't you people know that?"

"Do you know what a Tamer's duty is?"

She blinked. What were they getting at? "To protect the human and digital worlds?"

"Yes. And that is why we need to ask something of you."

Another eye twitch, as her hands curled into fists. "I have to go to the digital world, don't I?"

Yamaki nodded. "Yes. Other than Jeri, your bio pattern is the only one that can safely access and cross through the gates."

Rika sighed- she did not need this right now. "In case you're wondering, I'm grounded."

They all nodded. "Yes, we know, Rika. We called your mother to let her know that you were here- and that you would have to stop by here every single day for two hours during the next month or so."

Rika's eye gave a deffinate twitch. "And why would I be doing that?"

Janyuu sighed. "To help you to train."

Daisy took over then. "If Takato really is able to cause mass destruction easily, we need him where we will be able to moniter him, and help him to train as well. This is a re-con mission, Rika. We would send Jeri in with you- however, after the intense physical and mental trauma that she has gone through, it would be unwise for her to go."

Rika glared at everyone in the room, trying to get the point across that she was not happy with the situation. "So... I'm going to be your messenger girl, to bring back Takato, who you will probably just keep in Hypnos as a lab animal, since all his family is dead. And you'll probably run tests on him, and put him through that same physical and mental trauma that Jeri has gone thorugh."

Everyone in the room froze. Hearing it like that made it seem barbaric, but...

"This is nesecary, Rika. One person for billions? That should be an easy price." Yamaki stated simply.

"Besdies..." Janyuu continued, looking more thanslightly uncomforable, "the other Tamers thought that this was a good idea, and that if it was them, then they would want to be brought back."

Rika snorted. "Well, Gogglehead isn't the other Tamers- and neither am I."

Everyone looked at her, wondering what to say.

"Rika..." Riley, who happened to have a bit more tact than anyone else, tried to reason with her. "You have to understand... this is not something that is easily rectified, Rika. He doesn't want to come back- but suicide was obviously on his mind, so whether he dies there or here shouldn't make too much difference. We wish there was another way- but, as far as we can see, there's not."

Rika remained silent, thinking of the different options. Yamaki, seeing that she was swaying a bit, said something that he knew would make her want to go get Takato.

"What? The Digimon Queen is unable to find one boy?"

Rika glared at Yamaki. _'How dare he...'_ "Fine... I'll see if I could convince him. But if not, I refuse to try to drag him back here."

Yamaki nodded, and signalled someone forward. A new scientist that was obviously nervous about being there appeared out of the shadows, and shakily handed a small, plastic bag to Rika. He quickly scurried away again, as though afraid to be in the same room as the D.I.Q.

"It seems like your reputation preceeds you, Nonaka." She glared again at Yamaki before going to open to bag. "Wait."

Rika looked up at Yamaki again, annoyance obvious on her face. "What?"

Yamaki opened his mouth to speak, but Riley placed her hand on his shoulder. Looking up at her, he shrugged it off, and motioned for Riley to continue.

"Rika... what's in that bag is secret. Open it only when you get home, and even then, don't let anyone else see what is in there."

Rika snorted, although the whole mysterious aura around what was in the bag was weirding her out a bit.

"Is that all, or do I have to wait for you to talk to me about something else."

Yamaki frowned at her. "Just be here tomorrow after school, and be prepared to work."

"Yeah yeah... whatever."

And with that, Rika walked out the door.

Janyuu turned to Shibumi, Daisy and Dolphin. "Was that honestly nesecary to be so... harsh and blunt? And with her, too?"

Talley answered from behind him. "Yes. If we were softer with Rika, like we were with the others, then she wouldn't understand the eventual out come. She also wouldn't take on this task."

Yamaki eyed those having a conversation behind him. "But, it still took me taunting her to agree."

"Point." Riley stated, before walking down a dark hallway that was hidden from view. "Come on- if Rika's going to start training tomorrow, then we better get started."

**---------------------------------------------(I)Rika's house(I)-----------------------------------**

Rika slumped down onto her futon, glancing once at a clock that hung on her wall. _'Almost midnight... God, why did bread baking have to take so long?'_

And, true to what Rika just thought, she had spent most of the night trying to bake bread- trying to, since she didn't remember completely how to make bread. Her grandmother, however, knew the proper way to kneed the dough, and helped Rika to shape it and add a few herbs that would give the bread a certain flavour.

And, after all that, the bread was pretty good- even if it got out of the oven around 11 o'clock.

So, Rika, Rumiko and Seiko had an EXTREMLY late dinner, before Rumiko and Seiko shooed Rika off to bed, and began to clean up.

Rika could hear the sounds of water, pots and talking coming from the kitchen. _'God... so noisy... must... sleep... wait. What's this?'_

She pulled out from under her a small plastic bag. Suddenly, she remembered what had happened at Hypnos earlier, and looked at the bag again. _'If this is something stupid, then damn Yamaki and my "training".'_

Rika slowly eased her hand into the bag, and was surprised to feel wrappers under her fingers. _'What... too lazy to throw things out themselves?'_

However, she continued pulling out the wrappers, unsure of what she would find. What she did eventually find, though, caused her breath to catch in her throat. As there, in her hand, were the Sakuyamon and Gallantmon tribute packs- unopened, never touched, perfect in every way.

Grinning, Rika placed them back into the bag, which went onto her table in a nice, shadowy corner. Slipping into her nightshirt and boxers, she glanced out of her slightly opened window at the night sky, before closing her eyes.

_'Maybe... maybe I will find that stupid Gogglehead... 'kato...'_

**---------------------------------------------(I)Digital World(I)-----------------------------------**

The Shurrimon walked slowly through the desert. Actually, walk isn't a good description. Maybe... hm... ooh!

The Shurrimon limped slowly through the desert. After his battle with the large Raremon that seemed to appear out of nowhere, his right leg was completely useless, although not deleted. He had eventually won the battle, but some Pagumon that had been watching had stolen the data and ran away. Shurrimon, being too tired to continue, although greatly annoyed that he had lost the data from his first ever battle, simply decided to walk around, to see if there was anything he could load the data of to return to the hidden village.

However, he found that the more he moved, the weaker her got. Seeing some tall stone rocks in the distance, he decided that there would be a good place to relax. So he began to hobble over to them, trying hard to avoid all signs of life.

He had almost reached the stone out cropping, when he saw a small digimon sitting by something in the shade. Quickly walking towards them- or as quickly as he could go, anyways- he saw that it was a small Poyomon, who was looking after the strangst digimon he had ever seen.

"Hey... you Poyomon... do you have anything to eat?"

The small white creatue turned around quickly, it's eyes widened in alarm.

"You... you're not going to hurt us, are you?"

Shurrimon shook his head. "No... I just need something to refill my energy. I was caught in a fight with a Raremon. Why... would you be willing to give up your data, for a poor, young soul like me?" He asked with a slight shift of position, so it looked as though he was about to attack.

Poyomon's eyes widened even more, and it looked like the little guy was about to run away. But he took one look at the weird creature beside him, and then stepped in front of it.

"I... I won't let you hurt the one that helped save our world!"

Shurrimon looked confused. "But... I heard that it was some humans that helped to save our world."

Poyomon nodded. "Yeah... he's one of them!"

Shurrimon looked the weird creature over. What appeared to be brown, wild hair was covered with dust and dirt, as was his clothing. On both hands he had blach gloves, which had a weird, metalic arm piece- probably for protection, Shurrimon noted. He had on what looked like a blue sweatshirt, while underneath was a white T-shirt and grey pants. His white and green sneakers weren't so white and green anymore, and were ripped and stained- as was the rest of his clothing.

"This is a human? He doesn't look like much." Shurrimon commented, while he bent down to get a better look at the teen.

"It's only 'cause me and the other Poyomon had to drag him all the way from where we found him to here!"

Shurrimon blinked. "And where did you find him?"

Poyomon nodded out to the desert. "Out there. I'm waiting for everyone else to come... please don't delete us!" It yelled, scarred that he had given away something.

Shurrimon shook his head. "Nawh... I like you, and I find new species interesting. Is there anything I can delete around here, othe than you or your friends, so that I could get some data?"

Poyomon nodded. "Yeah... there's some rocks around the other side that aren't normal rocks. When you get your data back, will you help protect us?"

Shurrimon looked as though serriously considering the thought before he began to walk off slowly to the rocks that Poyomon indicated. "Maybe... but, I would probably need some kind of compensation for it."

Poyomon nodded. "It's a deal!"

Shurrimon, taking one last glance at the human, began walking quicker. _'That human would need some kind of food or water, if what I heard is true. He looks strong, and he might be a good companion. That Poyomon isn't bad, either. Hanging around here should be interesting...'_

**----------------------------------------(I)Ending Author's Notes(I)-------------------------------**

**Kay: **And there you go! Be happy that I didn't just decide to kill computer, or at least sympatico. It was SSSSOOOO slow tonight.... Oh, Shila's not here, 'cause she and her family went on vacation in the middle of me writing this chapter- which is why I'm finishing this tonight, since she gets back tomorrow.

And, an excuse for this taking soooo long to get up (although this IS actually what happened):

First off, I was sick. Computer time? Nope. Parents made me stay in bad for... well, as long as I was sick, which was about three days.

THEN I had a project. Gotta hate projects.

Thirdly (starting about two Saturdays ago) Sympatico was being VERY stupid: not matter what I did, the only thing that the Internet Explorer thingy would say was 'This Page Cannot Be Displayed' or VERY random 404s. I hate those.

And then I was at my cottage this weekend, got back today at, like, noon. Fun? Nope. Not in the least.

And now I have another project to finish tonight. Yeah (hear the sarcasm).

**--------------------------------------(I)Notes about the Chapter(I)------------------------------**

**1)** Well, this was going to be longer... but I got lazy.

**2)** More OCs for your enjoyment! And yes, I am perfectly happy if you somehow find a way to kill them, as they are mostly based on other charaters- friends, Kurogane (Kuro-rin is my fave of Fai's nicknames for him!), and other stuff. Have fun!

**3)** The Purpose of Shurrimon and the Poyomon? Well, other than for someone to look after poor 'kato so that he doesn't get killed... erm... well... oh! Reveled next chapter!

**4)** As already stated, got lazy. Which means the Rika scene was going to have more in it. BUT FEAR NOT! I shall (somehow) figure out a way to make more Rika-musing-about-random-things scenes in the future!

**------------------------------------------(I)Replys to Reviews(I)----------------------------------**

**Eh? I'm not doing this this chapter, since I want to get this out, NOW, and my computer is being evil. And I have to do the project. And- well, enough excuses, but I'm not doing this. I might reply via e-mail when my computer isn't being stupid. Keyword: might. Well, nya, and a cake for anyone who knows what 'neko-fy-ing' is from! (Hint: Story in Megaman Section- in a reply to review to me. I think it's on my faves...)**

**-------------------------------------------------(I)Quotes(I)------------------------------------------**

**"No, Inuyasha is NOT a pet! Or a PET!"**

**-Don't ask. It's me, though. Arguing with a friend. During English (last period, Main building, instead of O'Connor Hall. We're still stupid, though.)**

**"Meow meow meow meow meow me-OW!"**

**"NO CATS! KILL THE CAT!"**

**-Don't ask about this either. But, baisically, me singing that add with the cat for the cat food, and Jacqui attacks me. Why? Long story short- personshereallydoesn'tlikemakesrandomcatnoises, (gasps) sosheattacksanyonewhodoesthattoo. See? I can make SOME sense... but not much :)**

**----------------------------------------(I)Other random thingys(I)-------------------------------**

**_CLICK THE BUTTON!_**

**_THE BUTTON!_**

**_BUTTON!_**

**__**

**_(makes random fireworks go off around the 'GO' button)_**

**__**

**_BUTTON!_**

**_THE BUTTON!_**

**_CLICK THE BUTTON!_**

**-----------------------------------------(I)Song of the Chappie(I)--------------------------------**

**'Closing Time' by Semisonic. I actually decided to download a song from camp... and viola! So yeah, I've been listening to this non-stop since two mondays ago... which would make it the 13... or would that be three mondays ago? Mreh.**

**------------------------------------------------(I)End Log(I)----------------------------------------**


	9. Into the Abyss

_**Title:**_ Running

**_Chapter 2_**: Into the Abyss

**_Disclaimer:_** Kay-fuzz don't own. Bandai and Toei owns (we think).Toei shall die by Kay-fuzz's hands... or at least the translators. Kay-fuzz own story idea (this story). Kay-fuzz do not own other random cameos, either. Random cameos owned by other companies. Kay-fuzz not a company. Kay-fuzz sad.

**_Warnings: _**Ryou bashing (I almost feel sorry for him for all the pain that I put him through- almost) and along with the bashing is at least one word that should not be repeated to children. I do not say "under the age of" as a friend of mine is as much of a child as my three-year old cousin.

**_Re-cap (last chap):_** Rika is basically forced into trying to get Takato back, and is made to go through weeks and weeks of training. Well, the training hasn't started (yet), but then again, we haven't even started this chapter.

**_Song:_** Erm... Begin the Try from Rockman.EXE?

**

* * *

**

**06/04/02 (We think), Realm of Chaos (RoC), 9:42**

His head pounding, he sat up. Some tall rocks above his head shaded him from the brunt of the sun's heat, and the giant, pink pillars which moved over the surface danced almost lazily in front of him. As a small wind blew some of his messy, brown hair into his eyes, he noticed that he was laying on the ground, his head propped up by some small, white things with eyes and mouths.

He groaned, holding his head- he must have hit his head on… something. He wasn't sure what he had hit his head on. He wasn't sure where he was, either. Actually, he wasn't sure WHO he was.

But, out of all of the questions bouncing around in his head giving him a massive headache, he decided with the one he was sure these little creatures, which now surrounded him, would know the answer to.

"Urg… where am I?"

One of them stepped forward, as they were all in awe. "You're in some shade, under some tall rocks."

He couldn't help but roll his eyes at the obvious answer. "Okay… how about where are these rocks and shade?"

"Oooohhh…." Was the unanimous reply from the white things. The one who had spoken earlier stepped forward- well, as much as it could step, since it was basically a white blob. "You're on the lowest level of the Digital Plane."

He blinked, unsure of that answer. "I'm… where? Okay, now I'm confused."

This in turn made the blobs blink. "What do you mean? Didn't you purposefully come here?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea. I might have… do you know who I am?"

"You will be named Kiken."

He turned his head quickly to see who had spoken. A weird, plant-like samurai was supporting an entity that did not look like it was made of neither data, nor carbon compounds.

"Erm… you are?"

The old entity grinned at his ignorance, while the plant samurai growled. "This is the Old One. You will treat him with respect, Kiken."

He blinked. "Kiken? That's my name?"

The Old One nodded. "Yes. We sense a great power in you- would you not like to train with us?"

"Train what?"

The white blobs around him started bouncing as another plant samurai walked up. "What is going- Kami-sama, Old One! I thought that I would never see you again!" While the words might have resembled elation, his tone of voice did not.

The older plant samurai let the white blobs and Kiken support the Old One, while he addressed the younger samurai. "You ran from the village when you were younger. However, you were still born in the village and, as such, you still have a place among us- if you respect the Old One, and train with him, under his guidance, Shurri."

The plant samurai they called Shurri glared at the other. "I'm only here, because I came across the Poyomon, and they were protecting that human over there. I decided that it might be interesting to help- but, apparently, I was wrong."

Kiken blinked as he looked between the two samurai. "Erm… I hope you don't mind my intrusion into this, but why are we standing around here? This place seems… dangerous, to put it mildly."

The Old One nodded. "Yes, indeed it is. I was wondering the same thing, young one. Come- you are allowed back into our village, Shurri, as it seems as though you have been slacking off your training. And you too, Kiken- although it's not noticeable, you are strong, and deserve the right to be trained."

Shar looked Kiken over once. "Although you are a human… you must always keep the village safe, and secret, if at all possible. And swear your allegiance to-"

"We will not make him swear allegiance to anyone, Shar." The Old One repremanded sharply. "He is a free spirit, as am I. We will train him to fight, and hopefully he will fight to aid us. However, that is his decision."

Kiken blinked, before bowing respectfully. "I thank you for your kindness, Old One. And you too, Shar, Poyomon."

"Of course, Kiken. Now come- we need to start your training. There have been rumours that the Sovereign is searching everywhere for something- and destroying anything that is in his way."

Kiken nodded, before following the Old One away from the tall rocks.

Shar and Shurri stood there, glaring at each other, before Shar sighed. "The Old One says you are allowed back in- I will not doubt what he says. Follow me."

As the two plant samurai followed Kiken and the Old One, Poyomon sat there, looking after the groups. "I wonder…"

* * *

**08/04/02: Hypnos Building, Real World, RoC, 15:17**

There was a definate stillness to the air as Rika slowly entered Hypnos. It was the day after the meeting, she was still tired from her late dinner, and into her school bag this morning she had thrown the tribute packs, still in both their wrapping and the white plastic bag, and a change of clothes.

Walking slowly towards the elevator, Rika noticed that a few people at Hypnos were looking at her strangely. What was going on that she didn't know about?

The elevator ride was... uneventful, to say the least. Of course, with a song by some American snger called Norah Jones playing that was so amazing slow, Rika wasn't sure if she wanted to fall asleep, or break the speaker above her head.

The redhead had just decided on breaking it, regardless of the cost, when the doors opened, and into the elevator walked both Talley and Riley. Rika rolled her eyes as the elevator continued upwards, and the two scientists respected the girl's silence and privacy.

When the doors finally opened at the proper floor (the last place you could get off below the roof, appearing about six floors down from the roof on the outside), Rika nearly ran out of the elevator (the music had moved onto something by Elton John). Riley and Talley, barely containing their laughing, followed Rika into the main computer room of Hypnos, where it seemed the entire staff of the building was standing around.

"So, you showed up Ms. Nonaka?"

"Didn't exactly give me a chance, did you?" Rika shot back as she struggled to the front to see Yamaki, Riley and Talley following.

"So, you know why you're here?"

"To train."

"For?"

"Going on a trip that I still think is useless."

It appeared that half the staff in the room thought that Rika was insane, saying that the trip was useless. The other half had either not been briefed, or not read those super-annoyingly long reports that were on all their desks in the beige-colored folders- which are now burried beneath McDonald's wrappers.

Regardless, Yamaki shushed them all with a glare, Riley and Talley climbing into the high chairs, before dragging Rika through to a long, dark hallway. A small white light was visible at the end. Rika blinked at the scene it imposed.

"Just go to the end of the hallway. There'll be a room there where you can change, a shower, and a small bathroom- for your use, before and after training sessions. There's also a locker or two there, for you to lock your stuff in. You can leave whatever you want in that room- the only people that go in there are only cleaning people, and even then the cleaning people are usually two or three trusted scientists."

Yamaki turned around and walked out of the hallway. Rika, grumbling, began walking.

"Go towards the light... why does this seem like a bad idea to me?"

It wasn't long before Rika reached the room that Yamaki spoke of. It was, of course, through a few heavy doors, a few corners, walls, and what Rika had the strangest feeling was a pit full of either snakes, spikes, or some other deadly objects, but she got to the room- eventually.

Although, after the darkness of the hallway, Rika found the cleaness of the room hard to endure and the light harsh, her eyes slowly got used to the light, and she liked what she saw. Well, compared to what she expected, anyways.

Mainly white with blue highlights, the room was like a typical change room. A row of lockers stood against the wall directly across from her, a gap to her far right to show the other exit. Between herself and the lockers was a bench, plastic and blue, supported by two white legs at either end. To the left, against the wall, was a sink sicking out from the wall, a mirror hanging from the wall over the sink, and a cabinet to the right, which Rika assumed was filled with medical supplies. Between the cabinet and the wall with the lockers, was a recess covered by a piece of plastic material on a rod. Having a pretty good idea that it was a large shower behind the plastic curtain, Rika turned her attention to the right wall. A single door along the wall, as close to her as possible, and what looked like a long line of hooks along the wall, with a shelf above it for storage she could only assume. Aloowing her eyes to be drawn to the thing on the hanger, Rika stopped all motion. And promptly started swearing every word she knew in every language she knew (aka Japanese).

As there, in front of her, was her training outfit.

Rika walked over slowly as she finished cursing, looking at the outfit with extreme loathing.

_'I knew this was a bad idea. Why does mymouth never listen to me?'_

The outfit was navy blue, that much Rika was glad for. Everything else... not so much. It was skin tight, looked (and eventually felt) rubbery and elasticy, and the different sections, highlighting different parts of her body in a sky blue, made Rika want to tear the outfit to little, itty-bitty pieces. It was a one-piece, fully body suit, with a high neck, long legs and long arms, made to completely cover her body (Think a cross between Sango's demon-slaying armour from Inu Yasha, and Shinji's piolet suit from Neon Genesis Evangelion).

A note was attached to the high color of the suit, as well as a pair of gloves and boots were stationed at the bottom of the suit.

_Rika Nonaka,_

_This suit was specially designed for you. It should fit you perfectly, and allow maximum movement. As you are going into the digital world without your partner and only your own wits and abilities, and whatever weapon you decide to bring (_Rika grinned at this) _you need to learn, first off, Tai Kwan Do, and then other forms of self-defence. This suit should be able to let you move around freely, and will take some of the pain of the attacks for you, if you do get hit. You may hate it at first, but it might end up saving your life. And yes, the gloves and boots are made from the same material. And you're allowed to wear them around, normally._

_Sincerly, Hypnos Admin._

Groaing, Rika slipped off her other clothes and into the suit, throwing all her things into one of the lockers. She only then noticed that the door she had entered through had a full-length mirror on the back, and Rika went to look into it, wondering what could possibly be so good about this suit. She sparred barely one look at the mirror, before turning away in disgust.

_'This is something that mom would wear when trying to get a new boyfriend... or if she was a model for some Science geek.'_

Rika decided then to take a better look at the gloves and boots. The gloves were navy blue with sky blue trim, white finger tips, and extra black-padding on all the knuckles, joints, and bends in her hand. Feeling the different parts, Rika grinned- apparently, the black parts had some metal inside, the white let all normal touch-feelings through white enhancing that certain sense, and the sky blue was just for decoration.

Slipping them on, Rika turned her attention to the boots. Completely black, with navy blue and sky blue highlights, silver buckles, and enough support on the otherwise sock-seeming boots made Rika's smirk increase in size- slightly. They weren't heavy, and certainly allowed movement, being extremely flexible.

Deciding that seeing how she looked in the mirror would not be a good choice of action, she instead focused her attention on the gap between the hanger wall and the locker wall. She walked through it slowly, unsure of what to expect. The only thing that met her gaze was a large, steel door with more locks on it than she would care to be on anything- except maybe her bath room door (A/N: See chap. 5 (I think) for details).

"Great. I'm stuck here- in THIS outfit, with my school uniform, school bag, a change of normal clothes, and my homework. Stupid Yamaki..."

She grumbled a bit before walking back into the change room. She searched through her bag for something, anything that could distract her until Yamaki decided that she was taking too long and send someone for her.

Her card pouch and D-Arc met her searching fingers, and she pulled them out, looking at them carefully. The blue and white device was slightly scratched, but basically in good condition, and the screen was still the same old blank screen that she had become accustomed to after the last year. Her card pouch was pretty worn out, considering all that it had been through. A few holes, tears, rips, and stains dotted the leather material, making it look more worn out than it already was.

Rika was about to reach into her bag again, to see what else was in the black hole that she called her school bag (like that History project that she never found), when a small buzzing filled the room. Her head shot up, before she slowly stood up and walked around the corner to see the huge door infront of her. A small panel had appeared in the otherwise flawless door, which looked like she could easily fit her D-Arc into it.

Deciding to try, as she had nothing better to do, Rika gently placed her D-Arc, screen up, into the holder. The door immediately opened, and Rika slowly entered a dome that looked like it could probably fit four or five of the computer rooms into. Glass panels showed either outside, the walls, lights, or other random images, including scenery. The floor felt like squishy cement, to probably help break one's fall. Two larger panes of glass showed what appeared to be the control room.

"Ms. Nonaka. You finally decided to join us?"

"Yamaki, where the hell was that stupid place to put my D-Arc five minutes ago?" Rika asked quickly, throughly annoyed by the older scientist.

"All one has to do is touch the door. Or, you can wait for us to open it for you." The voice responded.

Rika rolled her eyes before grabbing her D-Arc. The door slid shut afterwards, effectively sealing her inside. "Okay, Yamaki. Now what do I do?"

Three sections of the lower glass panes slid away to let a movable gym into the room- pull-back rowers, pull-down machines, free weights, stationary bikes, reclining bikes, rowers, and many different kinds of equipment were on the moving platform- which was, upon closer inspection, also squishy cement.

"You train, Nonaka."

Rika replied with a small groan- and a smirk.

* * *

**21/04/02, Southern Quadrant, RoC, 11:57**

When someone says their hungry, they usually mean it. When they say it again, they usually really mean it. A third time signifies hunger cramps, and the nine hundred trillonth time, without exagerating? Well, then you better get them some food. Of course, with certain life forms that we all know of, usually the first time is a 'get food or he/she/they'll eat us out of house and home!'.

Well, in this case, it's not house and home- it's bread and peanut butter.

"I'm hungry, Renamon. When can we eat?" A red and black dragon-dinosaur asked the kitsune of the small group of strange creatures, and not for the first time. After all, someone who has been dubbed the 'walking trash disposal' can get quite hungry while traveling through a data stream.

"When ever we find a place to eat, Guilmon." The kitsune- Renamon replied.

"I hate to say it, Renamon, but it's been THREE HOURS since we last ate. Can't we PLEASE stop?" A dog-rabbit hybrid asked from the head of Guilmon.

"..." Renamon did not signify that comment with a response.

Terriermon, the ever talkative partner to one Henry Wong, grew uncomfortable after another few minutes of silence. "Okay, can we at least talk!"

"And what would you want to talk about, Terriermon?"

"Like... where in the Digital World are we going?"

"The Southern Quadrant."

"...aren't we IN the Southern Quadrant?"

"You never asked to be specific."

Terriermon grumbled for a bit, before retaliating.

"Where in the Southern Quadrant?"

"The desert."

"Where in the desert?"

"A village."

"Where is this village?"

"We are supposed to know by the energy it puts out, as if we are truly working for a good cause we should be able to see it."

"And where did you hear about this 'good-only' village?"

"A very reliable source."

Guilmon, having not said anything for a while, interupted what Terriermon was about to say next. "She means a Pagumon in that last place we were."

"The one on the brink of deletion? God, Renamon... I thought you had better taste than that."

Renamon's eye twitched- but, like Tamer like Digimon, she did not show any other sign of hearing the always-annoying dog digimon.

"So... are we there yet?"

"Do you sense anything?"

"...no. Well, other than all this GOD DAMNED HEAT!" Terriermon finished off as they suddenly found themselves in a desert.

A few more moments of silence reigned over the group as the three companions made their way forward, trying to sense anything different.

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Can I eat?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No, Terriermon."

"Can I eat?"

"What would you eat? The sand?" Terriermon quipped.

"No. The bread that the Bugermon lady gave me when we left."

"YOU'VE HAD BREAD THIS WHOLE TIME!"

"Save it for later." Renamon interjected. "We don't know how long we'll be travelling, right?"

"Right..." Both digimon groaned as they followed the only female. However, this thought occured to Terriermon about the same time it was told to the readers, and Terriermon, being Terriermon, just had to ask-

"Why are we following a GIRL, anyways?"

Renamon stopped, turned around, and glared at Terriermon.

"Er... an extremely powerful, can delete-me-in-two-seconds girl, who I will always honor and obey?"

Her eyes narrowed still, Renamon continued their hike.

"Now are we there?"

"No."

"Now can we eat?"

"No, Guilmon."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Can we eat?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Can we eat?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Can we eat?"

"No."

"Are we-"

"Will you please stop before I delete you?"

"YES MA'AM!"

* * *

**10/05/02, West Shinjuku Park, Real World, RoC**

Rika stared, along with her family and a large population of Hypnos workers, at the old shed where they had spent so many days. Of course, Hypnos has kindly taken over this section of the park, so there wasn't exactly anyone else around. The other Tamers had opted not to come- having deemed this a "suicide" mission (well, for Takato, anyways... and in more ways than one), they had decidedly stayed as far away from Rika as possible for the time being.

Just over one month ago, Rika had started her training. Of course, after the physical training (which didn't really faze her) there was the mental ("How NOT to starve" "As if I need to know that..."). Neither was extremely fun, entertaining, or interesting... except that one time that Rika had found that Free Weights and glass walls don't mix... but that's besides the point. Both, however, required her to wear that stupid, blue, body suit... THING.

Which, somehow, Yamaki, Riley, Talley, her mom and grandmother had gotten her to wear under her normal clothes- with the arms and most of the legs cut off, though.

"Rika... please, e-mail me as soon as you get there."

"Mom..."

"And don't forget to e-mail me every morning and night!"

"Mom..."

"And don't forget to wash!"

"Mother..."

"Afterall, we can't have you looking bad for Takato now, can we?"

"MOTHER!"

Rumiko flinched, surprised at her daughter's sudden explosion. She blinked a few times as Rika panted, trying to calm herself down. Rumiko then grinned, and, flapping a hand, commented (jokingly), "At least you'll have a story to tell all the boys when you get back!"

"Grr..."

Before anyone could say anything, though, Yamaki walked over to them.

"The gate is stable- or, as stable as can be, considering that this... 'Hazard' thing passed through it. We're ready to go whenever you are, Nonaka."

"Oh, Rika! Don't forget what I told you!" Rumiko called out as Rika grumbled, hitched her small bag over her shoulders, and began walking towards the hut. About ten feet away from the entrance, near the base of the steps that led up to the shed, everyone gathered around, saying their 'good byes' and 'good lucks'. No one, however, got anywhere closer- the typical human instinct of 'Unknown equals bad and evil' was quite obvious in the scene.

Rika rolled her eyes as she proceeded up the steps. For some reason, she felt as though she was walking to her death- then again, who said she wasn't? After all, the stupid author hasn't any idea.

Turning once more to look back at her family and the Hypnos workers who came to see her off, Rika growled in her throat. Honestly, you'd think that they were at a funeral by the way that they were looking at her. And that she was the dead person.

She turned around to face the inside of the shed, and uncaringly flopped a hand over her shoulder, a careless imitation of a wave. Within seconds she stood before the hole that would take her away from this stupid place- _'Actually, I'm kinda glad I get to leave. No mom nagging me, no teachers nagging me, no random people from my school nagging me... and no so-called 'friends' being all high and mighty.'_

Rika smirked. Well, the joke was on them- who was to say she could get back? Using the ark again was out of the question- after all, the Ark was now Grani, and also part of Takato and Guilmon's data. The theory that the Monster Makers and scientists had was simply a theory, and there was no way to really be sure that she would get back.

_'Ah well. Kinda boring here, anyways. And Renamon's there, in the digital world. And I'll finally be able to get away from that pompus bastard... grr... Digimon King my ass.'_

With these thoughts in mind, Rika stepped down into the hole, disappearing from sight for those who were actually looking hard enough to see her from their vantage point. As she crawled carefully, slowly towards the end of the small tunnel (which had somehow lengthened, and had suddenly grown a bend in it), she noticed a weird, erie red light coming from the around the aforementioned in brackets bend.

Coming around the bend (that word is so funny!), Rika stopped short as she noticed the way the once random, pastel-colored Gate had been somehow permanently turned red. Not just 'red', though- different shades, from an almost-pink to almost-black, flickered and moved, danced and swung around, the mists a weird green color.

"Great... the stupid thing's celebrating Christmas..." Rika muttered to herself as she moved forward.

She stopped short of it, not sure what to do. Takato had been the one to open the portal the last time. Well, if the Gogglehead could do it, twice now, then she could certainly open the portal, too.

Reaching for her D-Ark, Her hand froze and her eyes went wide. Moving of almost it's own accord, her hand reached forward and touched the green mists, a weird, slightly chilling feeling filling her body and soul. Reaching past that, she brushed her hand against the red sphere and mists, which instantly filled her with an almost unbareable heat. The two, combining together in her arm, then the rest of her body, ended up making Rika feel as though she was never more alive, never more powerful, and never more... perfect, whole, complete were the only words her mind could find to describe the feeling. She inwardly rejoiced.

Not sure if it was the Shaman part, or if everyone would be affected in this way, Rika twirled her hand, making the red sphere become more like the green mists. They swirled up her arm, and around her body, welcoming her. Rika somehow knew that the data that had been corrupted inside her was the reason for this, but ignored it, prefering to believe that it was her own uniqueness that made the mists and portal so happily welcome her.

Rika stretched her hand out the last inch or so, feeling a strange, almost solid shape in the middle of the red sphere and green mists which had not converged upon her. Not sure what else to do, she grabbed it.

Instantly, the sensation of falling came upon her, and she closed her eyes, seeing briefly the lights, colors, and swirls that went with being transported from the Real World to the Digital counter part, and the endless yellow-color that signified the lowest level of the Digital World...

* * *

_**Notes**_

People were asking for some digimon time, and there ya go! And yes, the Tamed digimon (Renamon, at least) know how to manipulate the data streams to get them from point A to point B. Now if only the stupid transit system would work as efficently...

Yes, back to the digimon. Renamon, Guilmon and Terriermon have set off on a wonderful little adventure. Why? When? What purpose does it serve in the grand scheme of things? Don't look at me- it's not like I know.

We shall find out what happened to all the other digimon (Monodramon/Cyberdramon, Gardromon, MarineAngemon, Lopmon, and Impmon) in... another chapter. Maybe the next chappie... but,I dunno. Mrow.

And Rika sets off on her wonderful little quest. Will she be able to find Takato? When? What will their reunion be like? Will she convince him to come home? Do you honestly think I know? I am theQueenof making things up as I go! No, really! Ask my English teacher!

And who is Kage? Why can't he remember anything from his past?It's kinda obvious (no, duh). But the wholeremembering thing? Well, if anyone's read the book "featherboy" by Nicky Singer (I REALLY recomend it- especially for projects), then you'd probably know about the whole thing with selective and suppressed memories. I had to do a whole project on memory because of that book- but I got todo random games, so it's ALL good! (go to google, and search for "Short term memroy". The second link should be the games.)

And I've started putting in dates and times. Oh, how I so kindly mess myself up. NYA! BAKA KAY-FUZZ! BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA! I said that to my Civics teacher: "Latchman-sensei no baka!" And she was like, "What about black boards?" -.-

And yes, we got lazy and skipped over the training. Why? 'Cause people wanted both and update, and for the stories to move along quicker. SO THERE YA GO! Be happy... I had to take time from my wonderful website AND Comm. Tech, Religion, Art and Math classes to do this... and we had just started Sem. 2, too...

_**Quote**_

_((Bang goes the peace and quiet then.))_

_(And the neighbourhood with it.)_

-Bakura and Ryou (in that order) from **With a Wave of the Wand **by _Shadow Over Egypt_


	10. Welcome

**_Title:_** Running

**_Chapter 10_**: Welcome

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own, you do not sue. Or, the whole thing starting with 'Kay-fuzz does not own' and ends with, 'Kay-fuzz not a company. Kay-fuzz sad'.

**_Warning:_** Insane stupidity here- not me, the peoples. Darn them... well, me too, I guess...

**_Rating:_** NC-17! HA! Naw, it's not... it's actually PG-13 for later chaps, but... mreh...

* * *

**10/05/02: Hidden Village of the Desert Tribes, Desert Level, Southern Quadrant, RoC 17:08:43**

A month had passed since Kiken had been brought to the small Village. Amazingly, it wasn't all that hidden at all. He had had no problem finding it, even from a distance when everyone else had been saying, "Don't look, you won't see it until we're practically in front of it."

He proved them wrong.

While Shar and Shurri had been surprised, the Old One only laughed and commented on how special Kiken was- and that the young human would undertake Armor-level training, before going onto Champion. Kiken, not remembering anything, simply nodded and followed the three into the village. A large feast ensued (for what, the human had no idea), but he was given tons of food, a small hut, and a place at the Head Table (for being an "Honoured Guest with Great Potential").

Training was, at first not that bad. After spending half the day doing cardio and endurance exercises (like running), he took a quick lunch break and got right back to work barely half an hour after he stopped, doing weight-lifting to help tone his muscles. After one week, though, he was expected to do everything that he used to do in one day in the morning (which meant that now he had to get up before the sun, not with it), followed still by lunch, and then some mental exercises with the Old One.

It seemed that everyone took part in the mental exercises, no matter what, and were able to meditate quite easily when they wanted to- the Old One taught them newer, better, easier ways to calm one's mind each time.

Then, after the second week, after-dinner was no longer 'rest' time. It was "now that you've lived here and are no longer a guest, then you have to help gather supplies, wash, and clean the dishes like everyone else". Then more mental exercises. Bed time was about two hours after sun set, leaving everyone enough time to get ready for the next day.

Kiken took all of this in stride. He did what he was asked, listened to what the Old One, Shar and even Shurri had to say, and worked hard with his training. Of course, during the training, he learned some important lessons- that everything, whether you were tired, hungry, thirsty, whether you could breathe or not, was all controlled by your own perspectives. And that at meal times, you didn't so much 'eat' as you did talk to who ever was sitting beside you, as there was no real need to eat.

That didn't stop some digimon, though.

"Hey, Kiken, pass the salad?"

"Which one, Shurri?"

"Meh... just give me all of them."

Kiken mearly sweat-dropped as he passed Shurri the six different salads on the table. Seeing the samurai devour them all in one minute flat, Kiken happily lost his appetite, and instead started helping with the clean-up, knowing that where ever he went, the Old One, Shurri and Shar would know exactly where he was.

Shurri and Kiken had become partners, completely inseperable- from doing chores to skipping training (where they were soon found by their Master, Shar, and punished aptly), they did everything together. Kiken often thought that he could somewhat remember doing something like this with a red blob, but refused to mention it- the first, and only time he had made that mistake, the whole Village treated him like a God.

Which both Shar and Shurri (for once in their existance, it seemed) worked together to end. After all, Kiken wasn't a God- he was a human with no memory, training like a digimon.

Kiken didn't comment- at least, not on that. However, he did happen to comment on his 'training' clothes: red, long, baggy shorts, black thick belt into which was stuffed a number of random things to help him with his training (inclding herbs, daggers, poisons, and a water-bag), a single shoulder-guard, which straped crossed over his now nicely-toned chest, arm bands made of a leather-like material and ankle guards of the some kind of 'flexible metal', that changed into leather shoes. His gloves with the metal arm-guards finished off the outfit. He had grown a bit of a mouth on him since training with Shar and Shurri, and his comment on "looking like a barbarian" did nothing to calm down his always annoying aide, who insisted that it was needed to keep him safe. His next comment ("With a bare chest? C'mon, tell me that this doesn't scream out "AIM FOR THE HEART!" or something like that") had ended him with a week kitchen duties- all kitchen duties.

For the next three, almost four weeks, the Hidden Village of the Desert Tribes (including all different kinds of digimon, who all looked to the Old One for guidance) lived and worked in harmony, community, and even prosperity- by the end of this time, they had saved up enough gathered food to last them through a ten-year famine. And the community aspect was in general- with Kiken and Shurri around, there was quite a bit of laughter as the two fought to up-stage the other in pranks, ideas, eating habbits, and ranks.

However, the harmony aspect was soon cut short as a strange feeling swept over the village on this beautiful, sunny, clear-skied afternoon- clear-skies with the acception of the data streams and the floating Earth above them.A weird, blue light seemed to fall from the Heavens- well, the Earth-sphere, but fall it did, and Kiken, Shurri and Shar (who now had to follow the two anywhere they wanted to go, as he was both their Master, and now also their junior in rank) decidedly stopped all motions else and, with a single sentence to the Old One ("We're... going for a run outside of the village- and yes, we'll be careful!"), went to go... examine this new phenomena.

* * *

**10/05/02: Normal landing place for inter-world travel, Desert Level, Southern Quadrant, RoC 17:08:49**

Rika graoned as she shakily stood up on the rim of the crater her fall had created. The green and red mists swirled around her once before disappearing into her D-Arc. She thought it weird, but dismissed it and looked around at the landscape. Some rocks over there, what looked like a mountain in the VERY far distance, and about twenty data streams in her range of vision. Perfect. And the few things that she had brought with her were now either scattered around her, or were forever lost somewhere out there in the Desert.

"Someone's really got it in for me..." She muttered as she went around, grabbing the one or two things she thought she might eventually need- pocket knife, check. Brush? Honestly, could anyone blame her for not brushing her hair in this heat? Throw. D-Arc? Check- no, she was going to just leave it behind for another digimon- or worse, a human- to stumble upon. Stuffing that into her pocket along with the knife, she glanced down at the other things littered around her feet.

After a few more minutes, a drastic change had taken place in the area around Rika. Instead of whole pieces of... well, by now who knows what they used to be, little scraps, odds and ends were strewn about, the most useful part of everything making it's way either onto her hands, into her pockets, or into the small satchel that her mother had told her to bring. The same color as her body suit, it was small enough to be no burden on her, but big enough to put either her clothes or the body suit into whenever she grew tired of wearing them.

After making one last check around, Rika decided to just do whatever her D-Arc told her to do: the Digital World, especially the Desert Level, was BIG, and there was no real way to honestly do anything without walking around in circles.

So, if you're going to be walking around in circles, why not use the D-Arc, and when ever she found this pile of garbage again, she could just curse the piece of technology, instead of herself?

Her D-Arc led her in a relatively straight line, once in a while making her go off in random directions, where she ended up finding even more random holes in the structure of the Desert Level, or gigantic data packets, which she would much rather not touch. Eventually, the D-Arc led her to a group of rocks that provided some shade, and deciding that rest was good for now, she slumped down near a group of Poyomon and fell asleep.

Of course (as the usual anime/manga plot line goes), the Poyomon were the same ones that had looked after Kiken,and they all looked at her curiously, wondering if she had anything to do with either the strange boy called Kiken, or their Sovereign's strange attitude lately.

However, all thoughts were swiftly cut as a low rumbling signalled the approach of either a BIG digimon- or a stampeed. Now, as fun as a BIG digimon would be (and as fun as it is to type BIG like that), it was, indeed, a heard of Mamothmon. Okay, they are big- just not BIG. Rika, though, did not wake up- one of the downsides of the rules of the Southern Quadrant was that you only woke up if you needed to. And, as Rika didn't know that she had to, she didn't.

The Poyomon of course were long gone by the time the heard of Mamothmon appeared, hidden by either more rocks, ontop of some rocks, into some holes, or away into the distance, hopping as fast as their little blob-by bodies would allow. Therefore, the only thing that the Mamothmon found was Rika, curled up in the shade of the rocks.

The Mamothmon talked for a bit, thought for a bit, talked for a bit longer, and then picked up the girl. Afterall, she might please the Sovereign to make him stop his rampage. And if not- well, none of them had ever had human before...

* * *

**10/05/02: Normal landing place for inter-world travel, Desert Level, Southern Quadrant, RoC 17:42:36**

Shar, Shurri, and Kiken arrived at the crash site just over half an hour after what ever had fallen had left. They found pieces of weird, strange, and undiscernable gadgets laying on the ground, semingly abandonned by whoever had left them. And they knew that someone had been here- the random footsteps and scent (in two cases), and aura (in one case) leading off in one direction distinctly marked where someone had been.

Shurri gaped at everything in amazement, surprise, shock, bewilderment and... what could be loosely defined as happiness on his face. Well, before he took off quickly, searching through everything, moving so quickly that even Shar (who was able to sense his two student's presences where ever they may be) was having trouble keeping track of the young digimon.

Kiken just looked on in amusement, before looking at the items and garbage himself. A plastic bag with the name "_Konohan Groceries"_ caught his attention, and he bent down to look at it. His movement caught Shar and Shurri's attention, and both stopped what they were doing to watch (Shar having decided that Shurri was giving him a head ache, and had set out to stop the other digimon).

"Kiken? What's up?" Shurri asked, as he then moved deftly away from Shar and walked over to look at what had caught the human's attention.

"I feel like... I know this... "_Konohan Groceries_" thing. Like I've been there..." He stated, touching the bag with his finger tips. The strange symbol on the back of his hand flashed once at this action, before turning back to it's normal black color. Both Shar and Shurri felt the weird energies that Kiken gave off when the symbol flashed, but decided not to comment.

Kiken, however, did not notice anything- his attention was focused on the weird white, slightly trampled plastic bag. Wait a second... _'Slightly trampeled? That's the other aura!'_

"Shar! Shurri! A heard of Mamothmon went through here- after whoever, or whatever it was landed."

Shurri rolled his eyes. "No duh, smart one. There's usually a stampeed of one kind of digimon or another through here."

"Not like this, though."

Shurri rolled his eyes again, while Shar looked quizically at the only human he knew. "What do you mean?"

"Look- the trail- it either leads to where ever whoever landed here was going, or away from it."

"And you're point is...?"

"Either way- they might be in trouble."  
**

* * *

**

**10/05/02: The Tall Rocks, Desert Level, Southern Quadrant, RoC 17:59:12**

"Well, theMamothmon were certainly through here." Shurri stated as they surveyed the area. The Poyomon were slowly appearing again, among the large hoof prints and tracks that Mamothmon had a tendancy to make as they stood still.

"And they stayed here for a while." Kiken stated as well, walking over to where he firstwoke up, and saying hello to the Poyomon there, who greeted him happily.

Shar sighed. 'Leave it to these two to state thepainfully obvious.'After a sigh, he walked over (Shurri following) to where the smell of the human (as they had decided it must be, after much conversation) had obviously rested for a bit. "Hmm..."

"Shar? What's up?" Shurri asked, looking at the marks and smells, too. Then something hit him- both figuratively and physically. "Ow... what was that for, Kiken?"

"Just that the Poyomon saw what happened, baka."

"Leave off! It's not my fault- I don't speak stupid."

"Ha ha."

"Quiet, you two. We didn't need the Poyomon's info- although, it certainly confers what I thought." Shar said slowly, wondering how touchy Kiken was about other humans.

"What?" Both asked simultaneously, startling Shar when both then called out, "JINX!"

The older samurai sighed, and addressed them, gesturing to the imprints. "They found the human- not you, Kiken, the other human- here, talked about what to do with them, picked them up, and brought them with the herd."

Kiken rolled his eyes. "And we can stop refering to them as 'them' or 'the human'. It was a she- and not just a 'she', but one of them humans who helped saved the worlds- Rika Nonaka."

Both digimon were silent, pondering this, when Shar asked (seemingly randomly) "Kiken, do you know this... Rika Nonaka?"

Kiken thought briefly, before responding (with an overly-bright smile which scared both digimon- especially since it was coming from Kiken), "Nope! And if I do, I don't remember her! I'm going to go talk to the Poyomon some more, see if they know anything else."

As Kiken turned his back to them, Shurri leaned over to Shar and whispered, "I'm not sure, but- that smile really scares."

Shar responded with a nod, before they realized that they were having a civilized conversation and promptly glared at each other before turning away.

Kiken came over barely five seconds later, and stared at them. "Er... did I miss something here?"

"Nope! Nothing!" Shurri said quickly, Shar refusing to say anything at all. Kiken sighed.

"Well, it looks like the only thing that the Poyomon can seem to agree on is that the Mamothmon took Rika only for two reasons- eating, and something about the Sovereign... what?" Kiken blinked as he saw the semi-guilty looks on Shar and Shurri's faces, before he turned his third-most powerful glare on them (they had only seen the second-most two times, both towards digimon who were harming his friends... although it wasn't harming so much as taunting and mentally-harassing his friends, and neither had ever seen his most powerful, although all had come to the consensus that they didn't want to), and said slowly, "What aren't you two telling me? Or is the whole village keeping something from me?"

"Er... the... whole village?" Shurri stated, not sure if he liked being on this side of Kiken's glares.

"What. Is. It?" Kiken ground out. He knew that there was some things that people were keeping from him- that didn't bother him. However, the fact that they would keep something from him- something that had to do with maybe the life or death of another human being- a human being who saved the worlds, none-the-less, was just... not right, to put it lightly.

Shar coughed, before stating slowly (the Poyomon looking on in interest), "Well, the Sovereign has been searching the whole Southern Quadrant for something or someone- who they are, or what they are, we have no idea, but we do know for sure that he's on a rampage, deleting anything and everything in his way."

Kiken sighed, depressed. "Great. Well, I guess there's only one thing we can do now."

"Go back to the village, eat, use those things we found back at the crash site to play pranks, and act like this never happened?" Shurri asked hopefully.

"You wish." Shar replied, knowing instinctively what Kiken was going to say. "We're going after them."

Shurri groaned, turning to first Shar, then Kiken to try to change their minds. When both obviously were not going to change their minds, he appealed to the Poyomon- who quickly said "No way" and returned to what they were doing before hand.

Shurri sighed. "Alright then, O Great One. Where to next?"

* * *

**10/05/02:Meeting place of the Sovereigns,Eastern Quadrant, RoC 18:19:59**

Azulongmon, Ebonwumon, and Baihumon stared at Zhuqiaomon as he landed in his usual spot in their circle. He fluffed his plumage, smoothed it out again, and, when he noticed his movements were being watched, ruffled his recently-cleaned feathers irrately. "Why, may I ask, Brothers, are you staring at me?"

The other three exchanged looks, before Azulongmon began speaking. "Well... we have heard reports...that you have been on a rampage in your own Quadrant, Zhuqiaomon. We were meerly wondering if the reports are correct- and, judging by your facial expression, they are. Tell me, why have you resorted to such... drastic measures, Brother, to find Matsuki?"

The Sovereign of the Southern Quadrant glared. "As, with those in my Quadrant, are the only ways to make them see that I mean business, especially after the Restoration."

"What does the Restoration have to do with anything?" Baihumon asked slowly.

"Because many believe that D-Reaper caused the Digital World to be deleted, and therefore caused the Restoration. However, some know that another power helped to increase the destructive capabilities and the speed at which the destruction could commence."

Azulongmon realized what the fire bird was talking about moments before Baihumon and Ebonwumon. "A power that only one person can control, that was supposed to work against D-Reaper, not with it."

Zhuqiaomon nodded as eyes (all... 18, not including Zhuqiaomon's) went wide.

"The Hazard."

* * *

**10/05/02: The Black Caves, Desert Level, Southern Quadrant, RoC 20:00:05**

Kiken groaned as Shar finally said that they could stop for the night- this coming only five seconds after the sun went down, however, made it loose some it's good news. He cast a glance over his shoulder at the mouth of one of the thousands of caves that littered this certain part of a certain out-cropping. He slowly recalled through his exhaustion that Shurri had called them "The Black Caves". It was a very fitting name, as the only thing one could see anywhere more than one foot into the caves was darkness.

They promptly settled just inside, about three feet into the cave- enough to both avoid the wind chill, and to be covered in darkness should any hungry digimon came by. Shurri of course, having been this way in the past (many, many times by the looks of it) kept wanting to dissapear further into the caves- but told Shar and Kiken to stay where they were. Shar, of course, said they all go in, or none go in, regardless if Shurri had friends in here. Shurri pouted, and instead found a nice, comfortable sport by the small fire they had set up and fell asleep.

Kiken and Shar soon followed suit- but, not after doing their, by now, built-in 'breath/meditate before sleeping' thing.

* * *

**10/05/02: Meeting place of the Sovereigns, Eastern Quadrant, RoC 20:15:06**

Zhuqiamon grumbled as he departed from the meeting place. He and his brothers had come up with- well, nothing, really. Although the other three had agreed to enhance, lengthen, and even (in Baihumon's case) work alongside everyone to find Takato, like the fire bird was doing.

However, other than Takato should now be found sooner than they had original thought he should be found (which meant that he would have to be found within the next 0.000001 milliseconds), nothing else was really done at the meeting. Well, other than the other Sovereigns still telling him to relax his search a bit. But how was he ever going to get information if he didn't find it himself, as the digimon in his Quadrant refused to go anywhere near him?

Sighing, he returned to his castle, having been re-built in much more splendor after the Restoration. The still remaining Devas were there to greet him, and offered him a rest. He shook them off, sending them all on seperate quests in different parts, looking for information.

Before Mihiramon left, however, he turned to Zhuqiaomon and told his Master, "There is a special group of guests who want to talk to you."

"Mmh?"

Mihiramon spoke up. "A group of Mamothmon from the Desert Level. They heard about your search (who hasn't?), and wanted to bring you something that might help. If not, it should make a tasety treat. It is currently sleeping in one of the guest chambers- though, why there are some for humans, I have no idea..."

As Mihiramon left, Zhuqiaomon thought this over. What ever those low-level, no-brained, useful only for data Mamothmon had brought him was in a guest chamber? And in the human chambers? It couldn't be Takato- Mihiramon would have told him if it was. Something to aid the search? He didn't really pay much attention after that to the human part- it was a common annoyance amongst his Devas that there were rooms for humans in his palace, but he didn't really mind.

After all, if the humans should come, they should be excellent oponenets- especially Takato with his Mode Change.

What ever this guest was, it was probably some low-level (lower than Mamothmon? Well, it would be possible... but for them to be taken by the Mamothmon, and a potential snack?) digimon, not even worthy of being looked at.

He entered the Great Room, and looked at the herd of Mamothmon. This was going to be a LONG night.

* * *

**11/05/02: Zhuqiaomon's Palace, Sovereign's Level, Southern Quadrant, RoC 07:02:49**

The red headed girl groaned as she slowly regained conciousness. Of course, she knew she had been moved while she slept (especially if the soft, fluffy blankets and pillows on the bed she was using were any indication), and that whoever did move her was going to get pounded.

She also knew that she was hungry, thristy, and... _'oh, thank god. So this isn't one of those dreams I've heard about where you walk around naked...'_

Rika swung her legs out of the bed, looking around at the room. A canopy bed, decorated in blues and yellows, a dresser, a vanity and seat and a large, winged, arm chair, complete with too many pillows, all made out of what appeared to be wood. She blinked, and looked towards the large, pine, double doors. Walking over to them and tugging on the handles, Rika found herself to be locked inside the room.

She growled- being locked anywhere was not what she wanted to be. So, Rika turned away from the doors and instead faced the large window which she had somehow failed to notice before. Hoisting herself onto the extra-wide ledge, she leaned back against the cold stone walls, relaxing her body as she realized where she was, due to the mainly red scenery spread out before her.

_'Zhuqiamon's castle? Then I guess it could be good that the door is locked- I honestly don't want any digimon that might have thought even a single bad thought about humans having access to my room while I sleep. Although, this does make my job harder... maybe ol' bird brain will have some info...?'_

**

* * *

**

_**Notes**_

1) Shorter than usual. I'm sorry, but I think I'm gonna start with the usual 'quicker updates and shorter chapters' instead of the 'longer updates and longer chapters'. Of course, chappie lengths will vary. But... who really cares about that? "What will happen will happen, and though our choices will change the time, place, and people the events effect, they will happen eventually, and the only thing we can do is prepare". Yeah... random quote there from Jacqui, aka the Belldandy clone. Really, as blond as she can be sometimes, she says some really deep stuff...

2) Yeah! We got somewhere... ish... in this chappie! I wanted to leave off there as a semi-cliffie, 'cause I wanted to start working again on Secrets. Honestly, I think I should really update things quicker,ore. It will really help me from getting writer's block- which I get a LOT. Also, deciding to read YGO/HP x-overs doesn't really help...

3) Shar, Shurri, and Kiken. Why does that remind me of "Ed Edd and Eddy"? Ah well. That group will figure prominently in the chapters- and, eventually, x-overs, to come. Really. I dunno why, but I just plain like Shurimon. They're samurai and are "one with the True nature and ideals of the universe"- another Jacqui quote, might I add. And I think that they play as awesome side-kicks to dear old Takato.

4) Speaking of Takato and Shurri, yes, Takato is a bit OOC. And there's a very good reason: no memory + 'growing up'/being taught/just plain LIVING with someone like Shurri would do that to a person. Oh, Shurri is based off my friends Heidi and Danny. Although, I could just say one- their personalities are similar enough... I shudder when I think of what will happen when those two get together as a couple... oi... weirdos... :)

5) Shar is actually based slightly off Jacqui (who has also taken up a role as 'okaa-san' for myself, Anjel-chan, Heidi-chan, Celly-chan, Vic-chan, Jen-chan, Sam-chan, Wanda-chan, Mehwish-chan, Helein-chan, Nova-chan, Era-chan and Kristy-chan. No, really. Jacqui acts like a mother- but one of those cool mothers who you can do anything with and say anything to (well, anything if you really want to be TKD'ed... SHE'S A DAMN BLACK-BELT, FOR GODS SAKE! Well, Jacqui and Mrs. DeCiantis, Soave, Heron-Howell, Poliwka (pronounced Pole-leaf-ka), Bada, Latchman and Mr. Van Poppen, Prince, and Win-Williams. And my grade eight teacher, Mr. Sorine... Yup... scary thought, actually...

_**Song**_

Das Wandern from the .hackSIGN soundtrack. Ah, I love this song... can't pronounce a single word properly, but I love it all the same...


	11. Meetings

Alright, I have finally decided to update Running... DON'T KILL ME! I know, I know, it's been almost six months... but there's been some really good reasons. I have about twenty plot bunnies running around in my head right now, and at the moment RttOW has been whacking the asses of every other plot bunny around. And it still is- or, it would be if I hadn't decided to cage it- however, I refuse to write any more until I finally read the sixth HP book, otherwise my facts are going to be WRONG. Of course, I shall have to rewrite other parts of the story should something have happened- though I doubt it will, as everyone I've used SHOULD still be alive... should being the keyword.

Alright, back to this. I know, I know, a LONG time, FORGIVE ME! And it's exams... be happy I've even started this. BUT! This will be the first story to be finished... I think. I shall update quickly! I SWEAR I WILL!

...I think...

* * *

Kiken groaned as he glared at the red/pink beams tearing up the ground around him. "How the hell do we know which one to jump in?"

Shurri blinked. "Erm... we guess?"

Kiken glared at him. "You've gotta be kidding me. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather jump in the one the Mamothmon did and find this 'Rika' then I would jump in the wrong one and end up in Meramon soup."

Shar coughed. "I doubt we will end up in Meramon soup, regardless of where we go."

Shurri shared a look with Kiken, before he threw a long needle-blade that he had grabbed from just inside the entrance of the Black Caves into the air. Said blade landed point-down in the sand, the hilt pointing forward and slightly off to the right. Shurri grinned. "Alright! We go that way and wait for a stream to grab us!"

As Shurri ran forward and grabbed his blade, Kiken and Shar followed along behind. "Er... shouldn't we be tracking them?" Kiken asked slowly.

Shar shook his head. "You can't track through a data stream- they tear up the area around themselves and completely erase all evidence that was through there. I've never travelled through the streams much- the one time I did it took nearly four months to get back to this level. Shurri has a much better idea on how to travel, since he has been for the last few years."

Kiken frowned at the leaf samurai. "And he relies on a needle-blade to pick his direction?"

Shar glanced at him, picking up his speed slightly to not loose track of the other, younger leaf samurai. "Do you have a better idea?"

* * *

Rika grumbled as she threw another pillow at the wall. At first it was okay in the locked room REALLY high up in the palace of the Sovereign.

At first.

However, a couple hours had passed and still nothing from her 'humble' host, nor any of his servants. Then again, that might be a good thing- Zhuqiamon had a definite habit of destroying and devouring anything that he found annoying, especially, "Medaling, self-important human mortals".

Yes, being devoured by a psychotic, giant... bird was not very high on the list of things Rika wanted and needed to do to get back home. But, it would certainly cure her boredom.

Another pillow against the wall- a hand reaching back to grab another, only to find that she had- finally- run out of pillows. Standing up, she walked over to the wall, collected the pillows, threw them onto the bed again, grabbed others, threw them onto the bed, and the others still on the ground eventually made it to the large canopy as well.

This was quickly followed by Rika collapsing onto the pile of pillows, before she began wrenching the fluffy head supports from underneath her and tossing them- once again- at the wall.

"Oi! Stop that! Filthy humans..."

She growled, recognizing the voice of one of the Sovereign's Devas- Mihiramon. "Make me, kitty!"

"Watch your tongue, wench!"

"Don't call me a wench unless you want to get killed- again!"

"You can't do anything without Renamon!"

"You honestly think I willingly came back to this God-forsaken world unprepared? I'm not as stupid as the Gogglehead!"

Mihiramon was suddenly quiet, and Rika grinned in triumph, before the low, growling voice filtered through the door again. "The Crimson Knight is here?"

Rika rolled her eyes. "That's what Yamaki said. Well, before he pushed me into training for a month straight in this giant glass-room-thing, and then forced me through the portal."

"So you didn't come back willingly?" The voice was challenging.

"Do you really think I would let someone like Yamaki push me around like that if I didn't want to?"

Again, silence, before the door opened and the large Tiger-Deva entered, peering around the room. "Human, Master Zhuqiamon has been looking for the Knight. You will come with me and tell our Lord what you know."

"And if bird-brain doesn't want me there at the moment?"

"He will." Mihiramon was so strong in his conviction it made her eyes widen. "The other Sovereigns have been pushing for his safe return as well. Any information will take precedence over anything else."

Rika growled at him. "Fine. But one wrong move..."

Mihiramon smirked. "I'd like to see a human- a human GIRL, none the less- try."

Rika smirked again, standing up and walking over to him, petting his head in a mocking way as she passed. "You forget, kitty- I've been training. _And_ I'm a tamer."

The Tiger Deva didn't say anything to that, and Rika passed unchallenged, turning down the hall, not caring which way she was going- Mihiramon would yell at her if she took a wrong turn.

* * *

Were Mamothmon stupid?

...was the sky blue and grass green?

Then again, Kiken quickly reminded himself, since this was the Digital World, that wasn't always the case...

The direction the needle-blade had led them in ended up in their being sucked up within ten minutes into a data stream, and instantly transported to the Highest Level of the World- the Sovereign's level.

Zhuqiamon's level.

Shar and Shurri stood beside him on the red plane, eyeing the castle looming in front of them. The tracks, which they had re-picked up about forty minutes run to the South (approximately), had led straight to the castle, which could only bode ill.

Looping around said castle once, specifically around the large void that separated the castle from the surrounding plane, they decided that said Mamothmon had used the only way to get across- which Shurri had dubiously dubbed 'Bubble Transport'- and, no doubt, one at a time.

Although how they fit into the 'bubble' was enough of a question...

Shurri grinned again, pointing with the needle-blade towards the castle. "Forward ho!"

Shar blanched- as much as a leaf samurai could blanch, anyways. "You aren't going to walk right into the castle and demand to see the Sovereign, are you?"

"And if I am?"

Kiken sighed. "I'll be on cleanup duty."

Shar nodded. "I get all his things."

Shurri sweatdropped. "Hey, come on! I'm not gonna die!"

Kiken sighed, turning his head away slightly as they began following Shurri- again. "That's debatable."

Shurri, however, either ignored him or didn't hear him, and instead began marching to the archway before the void, where Kiken and Shar joined him, waiting for the bubble.

They made it across the void without too much trouble (Kiken and Shar making sure to grab onto the end of Shurri's needle blade to prevent it from popping the bubble), and found a small welcoming party waiting for them- Majiramon, Pandiramon, Sandiramon and Sinduramon all waited expectantly, staring at the two leaf samurai, their eyes trailing to their samurai's human companion- and gasping, backing up in shock, Sandiramon and Sinduramon taking off at once for their Master.

Kiken blinked as he saw Padiramon and Majiramon wince and stare at him, fear in their eyes, obviously ready to defend or strike in a moment's notice.

Shurri blinked, before he laughed, swinging the needle blade around again. "Will you look at that? The Devas are scared of you, Kiken! What did you do to them?"

Kiken furrowed his brows as the dragon and sheep deva stared at him. "I... I don't... remember... I don't remember anything. Not any Devas, or Zhuqiamon... nothing."

Shar whapped Shurri over the head with the younger samurai's blade. "Did you have to remind him?"

"Aw, come on, Shar! The DEVAS are scared of him! What does that say?"

"That you three are to follow us."

Five pairs of eyes turned to see most of the remaining Devas standing there, the only two conspicuously missing being Mihiramon and Indramon.

Antylamon was at Kiken's side in an instant. "Young Takato, how are you?"

Kiken blanched at being touched by a higher-level digimon, the taste and sense of human completely surrounding him- the name completely passing through his mind without meaning.

Shar, however, picked up on it immediately. "Takato? We have been calling him Kiken."

Kiken nodded slowly. "That's all I ever remember being called, anyways."

Antylamon backed off. "Do you... really not remember?"

Kiken shook his head. "Nope. I just know what Shar and Shurri and the Old One have taught me."

The name 'Old One' was common knowledge among the Devas, and as such they did not react to it- Shar and Shurri, however, were about to whap Kiken over the head- well, until they noticed the none of the Devas seem to care about the name, and both slowly relaxed.

Antylamon shook his head. "Well, regardless, come with us, Ta- Kiken." He quickly corrected himself. "The Sovereign awaits your presence."

Kiken frowned as he felt himself being dragged into the middle of the throng of Devas, Shar and Shurri being left to follow behind.

Shurri sighed. "It's always something, ne?"

* * *

Rika stared up at Zhuqiamon, the Sovereign towering over her easily. Her eyes, however, were clear of all emotions, as she and the fire-bird had a long, long, long staring competition. Her eyes didn't water, his incapable of doing so, two eyes versus six... and neither were giving up.

Mihiramon stood off to the side, watching with vague amusement as the young female Tamer tried to stare down his master.

It had stared easily enough- he had led Rika into the room, proclaiming to Zhuqiamon that the female had some information about the missing Tamer. Zhuqiamon sent the Mamothmon away- however, they refused to leave, also wondering what she knew.

They were promptly killed, without a second thought.

Rika didn't even flinch.

Instead, she had crossed her arms and leaned off to the side, hip thrusting outward in a provocative gesture that one would never think she would be able to do, being the anti-female, pink and fluffy things that she was.

"Well, bird-brains. Looks like you're looking for the Gogglehead, too?"

Zhuqiamon had not been pleased. "It is Sovereign, Master, or, if you refuse to call me those, _human_, Zhuqiamon to you. NOT bird-brain or any of your other little nicknames. And show some respect to your leader- Crimson Knight, Tamer, or Takato."

Rika had glared. "He doesn't mind me calling him Gogglehead- if anything, he encourages it with those goggles of his."

"That is no excuse."

"It is to me."

That was how the glaring match started- and neither had backed down since. Mihiramon had almost laughed at the human's insolence, before Sandiramon and Sinduramon had barged into the room, panting and gasping.

"My... Lord..."

"He... has..."

Both Rika and Zhuqiamon's attention had been drawn to the two Devas, before Zhuqiamon nodded and turned to Mihiramon. "Take her back to her rooms, don't let her leave. Sandiramon, Sinduramon, gather the remaining Devas, bring him in. Ike!"

Mihiramon had grabbed Rika, throwing her on his back as he raced back towards her rooms, knowing the tone of voice that the fire-bird used meant trouble. Sandiramon and Sinduramon raced out of the room as well, gathering the remaining Devas from where ever in the castle they might have been.

Rika growled down at the tiger Deva from her perch on his back. "What... is... going on!"

Mihiramon answered with a growl of his own. "He has been found- and is right outside the palace."

Rika blinked- whether in surprise or because of the high winds, who would know. "He? Who's he?"

"Who else would make Zhuqiamon abandon all other duties and such a wonderful staring match?"

"DROP ME!"

Mihiramon skidded to a stop, turning his head around to stare in surprise at the human that he had just realized was on his back. "What?"

Rika, however, had already slid off the tiger Deva's back, and was racing back down the corridor. Mihiramon was after her in a second- but never quite able to catch up. "What do you think you're doing! Zhuqiamon specifically told us to get out of there!"

Rika screamed. "I've had it with that bird-brain! Takato is coming home with me!"

Mihiramon slowed to a stop as Rika tore around the corner, disappearing out of sight, a human saying that should be a proverb coming back to him.

_Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn._

_

* * *

_

Zhuqiamon glared down at the three who stood within the crowd of Devas. Two shurrimon and a human- to be slightly more specific, a Tamer. To be even more specific, the missing Tamer that the Sovereigns had been looking so hard for. To be extremely specific, Takato Matsuda, Tamer of Guilmon, and unofficial leader of the Tamers.

Zhuqiamon growled. "Where have you been?"

Kiken blinked, staring at the giant fire-bird in awe and surprise. "I'm sorry, but... do I know you?"

Zhuqiamon growled, louder this time, and turned on the two Shurrimon. "You two! What is going on here?"

Shar stepped forward. "We found him in the desert level by the Tall Rocks about a month ago. He had lost his memory, and although we know it's rare for a human to be here, we took him in and trained him."

Zhuqiamon had to look impressed. "You can actually stand him?"

Shurri snorted. "Kiken's more annoying than I'll ever be!"

"Which is really saying something, because Shurri here is probably the most disruptive digimon in our village." Shar put in, causing both Kiken and Shurri to round on him.

"HEY!"

"And was he easy to train?"

Shurri smirked, although no one could see it. "Easy? Tell him what to do and give him the materials, and he did it. Other than his... interesting personality, Kiken actually wasn't horrible to train. Of course, there was always meals and duties that he had to preform... then it was annoying."

Zhuqiamon cocked his head in slight interest, staring down at the young Tamer. "Do you have any idea of who you were before, Kiken?"

Getting the gist to be respectful to the Sovereign, Kiken bowed his head slightly. "In all honesty, I don't remember anything. I know I'm male, I'm a human, and apparently something called a 'Tamer', but other than that..." The confusion on his face spoke louder than his words ever could, and Zhuqiamon almost laughed out loud.

The strongest Tamer, who, with more, proper training and his Mode Change could take on Imperialdramon, had no idea of anything in the past! No worries, no memories, no responsibilities... the gears quickly began working.

Zhuqiamon, for good reason, had only ever had digimon servants- not a single human, because they were vile creatures who thought they owned everything they set their sights on.

But here, in front of him, was a human, raised like a digimon and with powers beyond comprehension when paired with his partner. A human that had been disciplined, but still retained a personality, knew his place, did not talk back to his superiors... and was, in all likeliness, a near-completely blank slate. A blank slate that Zhuqiamon had every intention of writing on.

"Ta- Kiken, they called you?" Kiken nodded in slight confusion. "I have been searching for a new servant. Someone who would be able to take down all who would truly oppose me, and prove a worthy adversary in battle. A messenger to humans and digimon alike, a symbol of the Southern Quadrant's power. My Devas are powerful, but are only Ultimates. They do my work where my own wings cannot reach, but even they are limited. A Tamer, however, does not have such limitations.

"Do me the honour of becoming my servant. Additional training will be needed, of course, but I shall provide that for you. You will show respect to my Devas and others of a higher rank than you- those who dare oppose you, regardless of rank, may be taken care of however you would like. You will live here, and, if those two samurai with you would help to increase your own powers or abilities in any way, they may have rest here as well."

Kiken's eyes had widened, and he was on the verge of accepting, but the Old One still appeared in his mind, clear as day. Shar, however, knew what was going through the young one's head.

"Just say yes, Kiken. The Old One will understand. This is a great honour- to reject it would be insulting on many levels to Our Sovereign."

Kiken nodded slowly, before a small grin appeared on his face and he bowed. "Of course, Sovereign."

Zhuqiamon let out an ear-splitting laugh, stopping abruptly as something occurred to him. "It is time for your first test, to see if you are indeed worthy."

It was about that moment that a pair of doors burst open, revealing our favourite- well, my favourite- Digimon Queen, hair slightly a mess from her jaunt down the hall with Mihiramon, and, of course, slightly breathless, though she somehow was able to hide it.

Her eyes quickly scanned the crowd, coming to rest on Kiken, widening slightly at his appearance. She slowly stepped in, eyes trained on Kiken, who frowned at her disrespect for Zhuqiamon.

"Ta... Takato?"

Kiken's eyes widened, before clouding over. He close them slightly, shaking his head, before standing up again. "Who?" There was only truth behind his words, everyone could here it. Rika stopped in her tracks, turning to Zhuqiamon, who was smirking.

"What did you do to him!"

Zhuqiamon shook his head, glaring all the while at the human that dared oppose him. "I did nothing, foolish girl. something happened when he arrived here, and does not remember his past. I have generously offered to take him in, train him properly, make him stronger than ever before."

Rika frowned, as did Kiken, though for different reasons. "So? If he forgets everything, shouldn't he come back to regain all of his memories?"

"Why would you want that? Do you now remember what happened? What he has been the cause of? I can reign in that power, Tamer of Renamon, teach him to use it properly and not just let it lash out whenever it so chooses. Going back to your world would only make him feel pain."

Rika continued to frown, her glare intensifying as something else occurred to her. "You said make him stronger, correct?"

"Are you so deaf that I need to repeat myself?"

Rika ignored that comment. "The strongest Takato ever was was in Crimson Mode."

"I am well aware of that fact, girl."

"Which means Gallantmon... which means biomerging... which means his partner..."

"All of which we are well aware of! What is your point?" Mihiramon growled from the door, eyes narrowing as his gaze rested on Rika.

"To biomerge, you need a connection with your partner (I can't believe I'm saying this...). To forge a new connection would be too painful, take too long. But to keep the old one, Takato has to-"

"Remember something..." Zhuqiamon finished, as 2, 4, 6, 8... er... 12 times 2 plus or minus a few, and then add... er... 36 (I think) eyes turned to Kiken.

Kiken blushed under the gazes. "What? What do I have to remember?"

Rika approached him, violet eyes locked on his own crimson, moving swiftly through the Devas and Shar and Shurri to stand before him. "Takato-"

"Kiken!" Shurri exclaimed in annoyance.

"-do you remember Guilmon?"

Kiken blinked. "Guil...mon... er... nope, not ringing any bells."

"Growlmon?"

"Nope."

"War Growlmon?"

"Still nothing."  
"Gallantmon?"

"Nope, but didn't you just mention him?"

Rika growled. "Grani?"

"Er... no, no idea who or what you're talking about. You know, you sounded just like Zhuqiamon when you did that."

Rika frowned, turning to Zhuqiamon. "I'm going to ignore that comment... he's completely forgotten everything!"

Kiken frowned. "Not... really... I remember something about an explosion, and some kind of sadness... and blood, everywhere blood..."

Rika turned slowly around to face him, staring in surprise as a few stray tears trickled down his face, while the male Tamer stood there, uncaring, images purposefully suppressed rising to the surface and clouding his mind.

Zhuqiamon glared at her. "And I suppose that this is what's going to happen every time he remembers something?"

"I'm a Tamer, not a psychiatrist!"

Kiken raised his head slowly. "And you... I remember you... Rika..."

Rika's eyes widened in surprise at that, only growing larger as he reached forward and pulled her into a hug. Her fists clenched, she was definitely about to pound him... until a small puddle of wetness on her shoulder made her stop, his body racking with silent sobs, the horrible images of the attack being replayed again and again and again. His hold on her tightened, trying to grasp something he could relate to, something to bind him to the world of the living.

Fists unclenched. Arms reached up, wrapping around his neck slowly. Eyes closed, suppressing her own images of that gruesome day. And Devas, Samurai and Sovereigns watched as two Tamers, lost and helpless in a world, a destiny, they had been thrust into, found some kind of comfort in each other.

* * *

Zhuqiamon flew slowly through the clouds, the Eastern Quadrant almost annoyingly peaceful, reflecting the other Realm that it drew it's energy and stability from. He felt the presence of the other Sovereigns close by, but he refused to join them- not until he could put into words what had happened.

Kiken had- to make it more definite- agreed in a clear, strong voice that he would be the fire-  
bird's servant, Rika still in his arms, but on a few conditions. One was that his and Rika's partners would be brought to them immediately. The Second was that Zhuqiamon would allow him, Rika, Shar and Shurri to leave the castle and travel as they so pleased, as long as they had no assignments or missions from the Sovereigns. And the third was that Rika would not be forced to do anything other than what she so wished as long as she stayed with them.

That, of course, brought up the question- would Rika stay? And for how long? She confessed that she had no real way of getting back, having thought someone might have offered her some hints about it upon finding Takato. It also quickly that came out that Rika had no real desire to return- certainly, not at that moment, and not for a while. And if she got to see Renamon...

Zhuqiamon, of course, would not let this opportunity pass. Rika was very anti-human, regardless if she was one or not. At least, she was, much of the time, anti-emotional, unless you count anger, frustration, annoyance, and a desire to destroy whatever had caused such emotions (aka the world) as emotions. He had told her that it would be her job to make sure Takato- Kiken- remembered, but only what he needed to remember to biomerge with his partner.

Besides that, Rika would also partake in the training sessions. Although not becoming anything like a messenger, she would be more like Kiken's... aid. Bodyguard, per say, until the dragon-  
Tamer could biomerge with his partner again. And after that... well, they'd see. Kiken was determined to protect her, though. It might be the fact that they had already been close (if getting pounded and joking around was 'close'), it might be that she was a fellow Tamer, a fellow human, in a world of non- and anti-humans, or it might be that she was his last link to his past.

Regardless, Kiken refused to allow anything to happen to her- his voice and his words had said that much at least.

And Rika herself, although her obvious denial about being a psychiatrist, was able to catch that meaning easily enough, and promptly whap Kiken in the head, the Samurai and Devas sweatdropping, Zhuqiamon himself showing no emotion.

A good team, that much was certain. Each powerful in their own rights alone, but together...

Zhuqiamon had sent his Devas to look for their partners, promised them that they would not become prisoners of his castle, and said that Rika's safety was guaranteed. It was almost too easy.

Zhuqiamon grinned, angling his wings to bring him down to his brothers. They would love to hear this.

* * *

Indeed, Azulongmon looked very curious at the fire-bird's approach and behaviour as he settled down in his usual spot, eyes alight with mirth. "What is it, brother? Do you have news on young Matsuda?"  
Zhuqiamon cackled. "Not just news, I have found him, as well as the Renamon's Tamer!"

Azulongmon's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing. "Why did you not tell us she was missing too?"

Zhuqiamon frowned, his good mood quickly disappearing. "Because, _brother_, I had no idea she was gone. In fact, it seems that one of their human companions- not one of the Tamers- sent her here to find him, with no way to get back."

Azulongmon relaxed, as Baihumon's tail began slowly twitching. "So, what news on the two?" the great Tiger questioned slowly.

"Matsuda, upon arriving in my Quadrant, lost his memories and has been going by 'Kiken' I believe for the last month. He has no desire, however, to return to the human world, and neither does the female." Zhuqiamon quickly said, seeing Azulongmon's look. "Your counter-part gave your Chosen a decision whether to leave or stay the first time. And now I give mine."

Azulongmon settled back, still worried. "So what will you have them do, brother? We know that you do not just let anyone stay in your Quadrant with your knowledge, especially two humans. Normally, their data would already be a part of you."

Zhuqiamon laughed quickly. "The Knight has chosen to be a servant, the Shamaness an aid and bodyguard to the Knight until he can properly use biomerging again. After that, however, her role is questionable- but Kiken refuses to allow anything to happen to her."

"Do ye have nay idea why?" One of Ebonwumon's heads asked, the other nodding, for once the two agreeing.

Zhuqiamon shrugged- which was basically moving his wings up and down, a very strange motion for him, as was his whole personality that day it seemed. "Maybe devotion, maybe a link, maybe how he felt before he lost his memories, or maybe what drove him to come to my Quadrant in the first place. He seems to remember destruction, explosions, and blood."

Azulongmon frowned. "And what else are you planning to do, brother?"

"Else?"

"You always have more than one reason for doing things, and all always work in your favour."

"A sparing partner, a messenger, a representative of the Southern Quadrant's power to those who presences would demean my own, a suitable apprentice-"

"Apprentice!" Azulongmon gaped, surprised- which, mind you, looked very... strange on a giant dragon.  
Zhuqiamon growled. "The Devas are strong, but they cannot evolve. They will always be Ultimates, and I need someone who can reach the Mega level and have little to no weaknesses- hence the female's presence, a data can easily overpower any vaccine- who would be able to actually carry out my wishes and fulfill what needs to be done."

The meeting concluded not long after, all four Sovereigns returning to their own quadrants, each with something to think about.

Azulongmon frowned, remembering Zhuqiamon's words. _"...someone... who would be able to actually carry out my wishes and fulfill what needs to be done."_ Obviously, the fire-bird had a definite point in his words, but it still startled the ancient dragon. Should he be thinking of doing something similar? Obviously, Zhuqiamon's Quadrant was far more vicious, more powerful, but their only major crises were the D-Reaper and Juggernaut- one a fail-safe to destroy anything that had gone beyond it's parameters, a part of the digital world itself, the other a malfunctioning program, created by humans.

Undoubtably, though the Easter Quadrant itself had never suffered from anything too ridiculous, but the Realm of Light it was connected to had gone through more disasters and problems than one could possibly count- not that one would want to.

Baihumon and Ebonwumon, giant Tiger and Turtle that they were, had approximately about the same ideas in their head- Baihumon worrying about the Realm of Spirits, Ebonwumon the effect of his own closed-in-ness on everything and everyone else.

Zhuqiamon, however, left with questions, but these revolved more around his new servants- after all, why should the Sovereign of the most violent Quadrant and therefore Realm known to most creatures worry about the way his Quadrant was not only being run, but how it effected others?

* * *

Kiken slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the room he somehow found himself in. Silk and velvet covered his body, plush red and burgundy curtains drawn around his bed that matched his sheets, pillows and quilt. Oranges and yellows of every shade and description decorated said quilt, hangings and room itself, making it look more like the fires of Hell than any kind of accessories inside a bedroom.

Throwing open the curtains, he looked outside the window, eyes taking in the view of the bare plane. He frowned- surely Zhuqiamon did not like to surround himself with such desolation, but then why would be build his castle here...? Of course, the obvious answer was that as this was the highest level of the Southern Quadrant of the Realm of Chaos, it would help his Sovereign-  
powers... somehow... it had been specially designed for Zhuqiamon, by Zhuqiamon (or at least his mind) and Kiken found it remarkably strange and slightly funny that this Quadrant looked the way it did.

He put his musings aside to bug Rika with later as he turned away and looked at his supply of clothing. Somehow (Kiken really wasn't sure how, nor did he want to know), a large assortment of clothes had randomly appeared within his chambers during the night, including things he knew he would never wear to things he didn't think he would ever be able to take off.

Choosing some loose, baggy pants and a silk button-down shirt, he slid them on over a few pieces of his armour. One could never be too careful, even if he was in the Sovereign's castle.

Stepping out of his room, now marked, he noticed, with a strange red triangle symbol on a black background, he closed his door and walked down the hallway a bit, stopping at the next door on his left. This, he again noticed, was marked by a white, circular symbol divided in half by a squiggly line, on a navy blue background.

Knocking, he didn't wait for an answer and pushed open the door, eyes slowly taking in the blue decor of the room. Blues, whites, greys and silvers decorated this room, making it seem more like an ice cave. Navy blue hangings surrounded a bed, and he quickly, quietly, moved over to them, slowly drawing them back, expecting to see a peacefully-sleeping Rika...

Only to find two violet orbs almost literally digging into his soul through his eyes, narrowed in an expression of intense anger. "Did you think I was asleep or something, Gogglehead?"

"No, I just... training... morning... breakfast... er... food?" He faltered, suddenly unsure around her. Her eyes had a small spark of surprise that was quickly extinguished, a smirk appearing on her face.

"Training, morning, breakfast and food? That certainly helps."

He frowned. "Will you come on? You're already dressed- Zhuqiamon starts the training today."

"Are you speaking back to me?"

"Eh? Er... well, I-"

He was easily silenced, again, by the look in her eyes, before a fist was slowly raised, fingers extending and snapping together again, an audible cracking being heard.

* * *

Mihiramon strolled down the hallways of the Sovereign's castle, enjoying the reprieve he had been given from his Master. However, that reprieve wouldn't last long- along with Antylamon, he was in charge of the two Tamers: training them, feeding them, disciplining them...  
**  
POW!**

"Ow! Rika!"

"Keep whining Gogglehead, and get your ass out of here, or there's going to be more where that came from!"

A red, gold and blue blur that was definitely the male Tamer, Kiken, streaked out of the ice-  
room, yelping as something that looked like a vase hit him in the back, crashing to the floor, but somehow not seriously hurting. Strange laughter came from the room as the female- Rika- poked her head and smirked at the retreating back of Kiken as he turned into his own room, before her eyes caught the Tiger Deva's.

They shared a long look for a moment, before she grinned savagely and shut the door, her footsteps away from the wooden portal soft and delicate- as much of a fighter as she was, she still had a kistune for a partner and a model for a mother- even Mihiramon could barely hear her steps.

He smirked in satisfaction- they certainly didn't need discipline from anyone...

* * *

Kiken groaned as he made his way down the hall, brown hair askew and shirt and pants hanging loosely off his frame. That little run-in with Rika had surprised him- he hardly knew her, but it was more like instinct than anything else that made him move and act like that. She was a time-  
bomb waiting to go off- and, he realized, more than likely to go off around him.

He sighed, about to turn a corner when a felt a heavy- and familiar- presence crash into him.

"Shurri get off me! You're heavy, dammit!"

The samurai laughed. "Just look at the bright side- you're not sitting on me!"

"The only side I can see from here is your ass! Now, UP!"

Shurri laughed, standing quickly, offering his hand down to the Tamer. Kiken took it quickly- before flipping Shurri over his back towards the wall, causing the samurai to crash into said object and slide down to the floor. Kiken laughed in triumph, smirking in victory.

"Well, if I'm so heavy, then maybe you shouldn't have set yourself up like that."

Shurri had nothing to respond to that- if the swirls in his eyes were any indication, he'd be out for a while. Kiken had no worries about leaving him in the middle of a hallway- it was the Sovereign's castle, and Zhuqiamon had already sworn that Shurri and Shar would have nothing to worry about ("An armour's data is too weak to be of any substantial use to anyone living in my castle, anyways" Had been the excuse the Sovereign had used).

He was about to finally turn the corner, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Turning around slightly, he looed wide-eyed at the violet-eyed female Tamer, who had some kind of unrecognizable emotion in her eyes. He frowned, no longer like the lost, confused and timid Tamer he had been earlier.

"What?"

She lowered her hand, eyes clouding over slightly, before looking down at Shurri's still unmoving body. "You're just going to leave him there?"

"It's his own fault. Besides, we always did that in the village."

Rika frowned, turning her gaze back to him, but he had already turned his back, and began walking away. _'Takato... what has happened to you?'_

He turned around again, a small smile on his face that was more reminiscent of who she remembered him to be, as he offered her his arm. "Are you coming?"

Walking quickly, she caught up to him, and walked past, grabbing his arm in the process and dragging him along until he got used to her pace. Their strides matched, even and smooth, bringing them closer to the training hall.

Shurri, meanwhile, opened his eyes and smirked as he watched their retreating backs from his position against the wall. "Heh... who woulda thought..."

* * *

Alright, yes, again, it's been a while. I actually had this on my website for almost a month before I realized that I hadn't posted it on (and was trying to figure out why I hadn't gotten any reviews for it). For all future chapters and stories, especially during school time, I actually write them ON my site. Then copy-and-paste, and stick 'em on a Word Perfect document, and upload 'em to whenever I get a chance.

And I shall be WORKING now during the summer, so don't expect supper-fast updates like what most people do during these two months. Yes, working. I need money. I spent most of it this year on my essentials. Gah, that wasn't fun. (Twitch)

Oh, we found aff- FINALLY! There's so many good things on there! Admittedly, incest isn't all that good (shudder), but everything on there is R or NC-17! C'mon, how is that NOT good? Death, Murder, Suicide, Torture, Soul-Stealing, occasional rape scenes- which I don't like as much as the others listed- it can be questionable, but I think it's entertaining :)

What? My news doesn't usually say, "Three people murdered". It usually says "Price of gas goes up three cents", which is, in all actuality, much worse for me. Yes, I sound cold-hearted. Yes, I probably sound really strange, weird, psychotic, masochistic, sadistic, and just plain evil.

HOWEVER, I have my reasons. Yes, this has turned into a rant. Yes, I'm being weird now. Yes, it is before noon when I don't have school, and am not working. I have ever reason to be cold-  
hearted and strange right now. Don't bug me.

Onto happier notes, we're trying to finish most of Running, if not all of it, by September. Originally, it was to be done by the day that the 6th HP book comes out so that we can happily read that and write RttOW w/o feeling guilty (Secrets is probably getting put on hiatus. Just re-read the first few chapters... I suddenly have the urge to just completely delete it and forget I had ever written it). But, it doesn't seem that will be happening, so until we decide to get off our ass an move a bit faster, you're stuck with this.

Happy reading for whatever you're reading, and if I can say this- UPDATE, ALL YOU WHO HAVE NOT SINCE MARCH! I haven't updated since March, and this thing is a good... er... I dunno how long, but a LONG chapter! Longer than the previous ones! Now, GET TO WORK!


	12. And as Time goes on

_**Running**_

**Chapter 12: And as Time Goes on…**

**Disclaimer: **Me? Own something? You people are insane… I own a driver's license, 32 random manga, some anime DVDs, a sterling silver FMA Alchemic Cross, and a computer. And some stuffies. And some old tapes of Tamers. So there's NO reason to go find your lawyers… none at all… eh heh heh….

**Warnings:** Wow, we're bored. Not much in here, so there's no need to worry. I think.

**---------------------------START CHAPTER---------------------**

"Can't you two continue for longer than that? It's only been three hours!"

"Three hours having to fight while staring at your ugly face, kitty, and listen to that voice of yours!"

Mihiramon looked about ready to kill. "What do you mean, my voice!"

Rika smirked, leaning on her bo. "Exactly what it sounds like."

Mihiramon growled, pacing along the dais again. "Just for that, another two hours!"

Rika rolled her eyes, turning back to her sparing partner. Both of them were sweating, the perspiration dripping down into their eyes. Basic and not-so-basic armor adorned their bodies, casual clothing tossed off to the side of the room.

Whipping her bo around, and angling it slightly towards the ground, Rika smirked at the look on Kiken's face. Normally, she would have expected him to be tired, panting, and about to collapse. Now, however, he seemed to be cool, calm, and gathering energy during these short spurts when Rika and Mihiramon would take to insulting each other just for the heck of it.

Her surprise at the 'new Takato' had worn off within the first half hour- now, she was enjoying the prospect of a good training partner.

"Yah!" She lunged forward, ready to strike. Kiken raised his bo to block her own, then quickly tilted it to swipe at her feet. She leapt over the wooden staff, landing squarely on the ground crouched and her bo behind her, ready to strike.

He smirked, not wasting any of his energy on talking- and she did the same, this time waiting for him to go on the offensive.

"Hya!"

And they were at it again.

**------------------BLAHBLAHBLAH---------------**

_Click._

That was about all the warning that Riley and Talley received before a harsh voice broke through the silence of Hypnos' main control room. "Status on Nonaka."

Riley double-checked the screen in front of her, switching over to the large dome above her head that had been altered to show the digital plane instead of the typical human plane that Hypnos was supposed to be monitoring.

"All bodily functions being completed as per usual- though it seems like she's either in a fight or training. Her heart rate is up- as far as the sensors can show."

There was a considering silence, for once not filled with the sound of the lighter opening and closing. "Any information regarding Matsuda?"

Talley shook her head, the elevated chair swinging around to attach onto the back of Riley's again. "No sir. Nothing new whatsoever."

_Click._

Both women winced as they heard the tell-tale clicking sound of the lighter. Yamaki growled. "Upload any and all data components we were able to collect from the last few incidences. Scan through- see if we can find anything that may aid us. Call up the other Tamers- I want a detailed report from all of them regarding Matsuda and this Hazard. Understand?"

"Understood." Riley and Talley continued to work hard, typing seemingly random commands on their keypads as they heard the door automatically open and close. They both sighed in relief, slouching in their chairs as both mechanical devices were lowered to the floor.

"I swear, the longer we spend on this thing, the more stress it seems to put on Yamaki." Talley complained, stretching her arms as she folded her fingers together and pushed them outwards, cracking her knuckles.

Riley looked up at the dome again, groaning. "This is getting more and more ridiculous. We finally think we might be getting a break, and then this happens…."

"How did this all start, anyways?"

"The attack on West Shinjuku, I think. You forget- Takato's family lived and worked there- he was just lucky to be at school when it was bombed."

"Complete massacre- I'm surprised that even those few people survived." Talley commented, pulling up some screens to show pictures taken just after the attack. They appeared on the dome, filling the entire navy blue surface.

Riley sighed, seeing the pictures of what was once the Matsuda bakery. "It's just too sad- they loose their partners, and a year later almost to the date he looses his family. No wonder he left."

Talley looked over her shoulder at Riley. "Takato created Guilmon, right? The others just bio-emerged, but-"

"Don't speculate, don't even try to guess." Riley cut her associate off, closing pictures of the attack and pulling up ones of the Tamed digimon- specifically, Guilmon and all his evolutions. "All we know is that Takato created each of his evolutions, as well as himself. Except for his Mega."

Talley nodded. "But Takato's a part of Gallantmon- there has to be some kind of connection."

All the screen were closed as Riley went back to work monitoring Rika again, Talley not having anything else to do but wait for any kind of information transfer. "Oh, there's a connection alright- but we're just too human to see or understand it. Now, didn't Yamaki ask for files regarding the captured digimon and Tamers?"

Talley quickly found enough work to last her for a _long_ while.

---------------

To eat, or not to eat: that was the question.

Apparently, though, there wasn't the same number of solutions- and Guilmon was getting tired. "Renamon…."

The kitsune immediately stopped, turning around to glare at the large red dino-dragon. "No. There's no food around here, so stop asking."

Terriermon, from his position on Guilmon's head, moaned. "But we haven't eaten in ssooooo long!"

"That's because we're in a desert, Terriermon. And we don't _need_ to eat," Renamon deadpanned.

Both Terriermon and Guilmon moaned, their stomachs easily agreeing with them. "But we need food…."

"Fine. Have your choice. You can either go and get food from one of the other levels- or you can continue on, without food (which you don't even really need), and possibly find your Tamers. What will it be?"

Guilmon suddenly plowed ahead of her, all thoughts of food forgotten as a single mention of Takato got him going. "We'll get to see Takatomon!"

Renamon shook her head, wondering why she hadn't done that earlier, as Terriermon screams cut the silence:

"Wha! Guilmon, this feels great, but- LOOK OUT FOR THE DEVA!"

Renamon's head whipped around as a large dust cloud covered the horizon. In the next second she was by their side, facing down what was probably one pissed- off digimon.

Instead, a small rabbit-dog met her gave, who bore an unmistakable semblance to Terriermon-

"Lopmon, it's you. I thought it was Sandiramon or one of the others."

Lopmon huffed as he sprang back to his feet, joining Terriermon on top of Guilmon's head. "It almost was, Renamon. But I was able to convince Zhuqiamon to let me come instead- on the off-chance that these two did something like this and then they'd get themselves deleted."

"We wouldn't do that! Would we? Guilmon?" Terriermon looked down to see Guilmon with a strange, almost-feral look in his eyes. "What it is, trashcan?"

"Lopmon smells like Takatomon."

The strange scent that had secretly been permeating the air (Renamon barely catching it and Terriermon ignoring it completely) finally had a name to it- and Guilmon seemed to be able to focus now on only that.

Lopmon nodded his head. "Takato has been found- and has been moved to the Sovereign's castle. Also, Rika is there-"

"TAKATOMON!" Guilmon took off again, Renamon not-so-easily matching pace with him. Lopmon and Terriermon had to hang on for dear life, Renamon picking Lopmon off Guilmon's head as easily as picking an apple off a tree.

"I don't suppose you have any reason for not telling us this earlier, Lopmon?" Renamon asked, carefully watching where they were heading, as Guilmon obviously was not being so cautious.

Lopmon would have shrugged, or apologized- but a data stream descended upon them at that moment, and the rabbit-dog didn't get a chance to answer until the stream had cleared and they were on the Sovereign's level. Guilmon quickly took off again, Terriermon barely keeping his grip, as Renamon and Lopmon (who quickly hopped off Renamon and evolved to Antylamon) struggled to keep pace.

"We've been looking for you two. You see- they are the only ones here, and it seems that young Takato suffers from some kind of human condition that effects the mind- specifically, memories."

Renamon frowned. "And Rika?"

"Still as… open as ever."

What that meant, Renamon had no idea, but quickly understood that Rika changing in all of a year and a bit would take a lot of energy, and an unconquerable will.

When they reached the 'Bubble Bridge', Renamon, Antylamon and Terriermon had to physically hold Guilmon back from running right through the bubble and off the edge of the cliff into the abyss.

Antylamon took a moment to look around, before nodding. "The Sovereign has not been in the best of moods, so it would do well to remember to be polite and-"

"Do we get food?" Terriermon was quick to ask, cutting off his counter-part. Antylamon wasn't all that happy, but let him get away with it as they were now approaching the opposite edge.

**-------------BLAHBLAHBLAH--------------**

"Master, Antylamon has located Their partners."

Zhuqiamon looked down at Catsuramon who bowed before him, smirking (or as much of a smirk as one can accomplish with a beak). "Excellent… send for the Knight and the Priestess then."

Catsuramon looked visibly shaken. "Are you sure that is… wise, my lord?"

"Who are you to question me? GO!"

Catsuramon was off pretty quickly, trembling from tip to tail- and for good reason. Since the beginning of training (all of two days before), the two had been going at each other with a will, arguing non-stop every time they were within seeing distance (or, in some cases, screaming distance) of one another. The gentle, caring Kiken seemed to have bit the dust, as he was usually the instigator of said fights- not that Rika didn't enjoy them. Being the only two humans in the Palace, they had to do something to keep themselves occupied, and any kind of rivalry was more than accepted.

Zhuqiamon winced as he remembered the fight during dinner the night before, that had somehow ended with the makeshift chopsticks the two had been supplied with (unwisely made of Chrome DigiZoid) stuck in one wall, one door, one set of pinfeathers, and nearly in Zhuqiamon's eyes- the Sovereign had never been so thankfully that small amounts of the Alloy could be easily melted by his flames.

Zhuqiamon had banned them from eating, and was about to dispose of all 'food' like objects within the palace- when Mihiramon and Rika, for once agreeing on something, reminded him that if Antylamon should find Guilmon that there had better be some kind of edible substance within the palace, or Zhuqiamon may very well be without a home- or level, for that matter.

Hearing a banging on the door and some whispered conversations, Zhuqiamon sensed three- not two- digimon along with his servant. Hearing more whispers, the mighty Sovereign of the Southern Quadrant actually felt some dread at possibly having to confront Lopmon's counter-part.

"Heya, Zhuqs! How ya doing?"

"Terriermon!"

Zhuqiamon put all of his self-restraint into _not_ barbequing the dog-rabbit hybrid where he stood, because that was on top of Guilmon's head, and he happened to need the dragon for Kiken. Anyways, without her human around, Antylamon had proven to be the best servant of all his Devas. Loyal, caring- which might not have been the best quality to have originally- and quiet, Antylamon only ever spoke back if there was any kind of concern to his Master's health. And barbequing Terriermon would include barbequing Antylamon, not to mention Renamon- and he really, really didn't want Rika to motive Kiken into blowing _anything_ up, even if it was each other.

"Little ingrate, what are you doing here?"

Terriermon frowned. "What? I though you invited all of us- hey, is Impmon gonna pop out of his hiding place any time soon? I have a little prank I think he would like…."

However, Guilmon lifted his head, took a deep breath- and starred at Zhuqiamon in confusion. "Takatomon is here, and Rikamon-" Renamon could already see the redhead blasting Guilmon away for calling her a 'mon', "- but Guilmon can't smell Henry-mon or the others."

Renamon shot a gaze at Zhuqiamon, who confirmed it with only the slightest nod of his head. Terriermon, although looking definitely disappointed, was somehow able to bounce back again, already looking for the kitchens.

"Antylamon, I expect you to inform them of _everything_ that's come to pass." Zhuqiamon left the chambers, headed to his own.

The Deva knew very well that when Zhuqiamon said everything, he meant _everything_. Turning back to the three rookies behind him, Antylamon felt a strange apprehensiveness overtake his consciousness, and gulped.

"Well, you see…."

**-----------------SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE PALACE--------------**

_Bang._

"Watch it, psychos!"

_Crash._

"Make us, kitty!"

_Blam._

"You DON'T want me to break it up!"

_BOOM_

"Like to see you make us try!"

Catsuramon cautiously poked his head around the door, surprised to find the dojo-like room still in somewhat one piece- with the notable exception of a large hole in the floor, Kiken and Rika looming over it, their bos, still stuck in the hole, the obvious reason for the new… improvement. Both of their glares were trained at Mihiramon, who gave the impression of hiding in the corner, with hackles raised.

As weird as the scene was, Catsuramon couldn't help but be impressed by the amount of damage the two humans were able to accomplish, especially only after a few days of training together. Obviously, having them constantly hacking and slashing at the other helped their skills, and with them already far more competent than the normal human at fighting, seemed to only increase their own abilities to a level normally unheard of for a human.

Then again, Catsuramon realized, both were Tamers, so their basic fighting levels would _have_ to be higher than that of a normal human's….

He took another look around the dojo. Walls and floors were dented, some on the verge of breaking. There was some evidence of Mihiramon using one of his attacks as well, although neither Tamer showed any kind of injury that might be a result. The windows (which were actually created using digi-gnomes, as the large- huge, really- dojo was in the middle-lower levels of the castle) hadn't seemed to have taken much damage- then again, they instantaneously repaired themselves, so Catsuramon probably should believe that they had been destroyed a number of times already.

'_But when did they decide to work together instead of against each other and turn on Mihiramon?'_ Catsuramon couldn't help but begin to think that the two humans might be plotting a revolt against the Sovereign- until Mihiramon growled, and started pacing around them as they both lifted their bos from the hole, stood them straight against their sides, and stood straight themselves, waiting for Mihiramon to speak.

"Not bad, humans- made me jump there. Hm…."

Kiken eyed the tiger Deva. "So… do we?"

Mihiramon paused, but nodded, causing Kiken to cheer and Rika to regain the near-continuous smirk that her face morphed so easily into. "But-!" Both immediately regained their previous military-like position, "I will need to inform Zhuqiamon of your accomplishments first, and ask him if it would be alright to start your training with swords."

They both nodded- Zhuqiamon had already asked them for a demonstration of hand-to-hand fighting, the first day of their lessons. It had been the first thing that both were taught ("After all, don't expect there to just so happen to be a weapon at hand when you need one"). Another display would be easy.

Mihiramon paced around them again, then looked out the 'windows'. He growled. "Midday, and you two are already challenging me. Go take a break somewhere, until the Sovereign calls- go to your rooms or somewhere. Just stay-out-of-our-way. Filthy humans…."

Grumbling, Mihiramon left through another door that Catsuramon hadn't noticed until then. Kiken and Rika eyed each other, then smirked and stood again in their ready positions.

"Now that kitty-cat's not here, let's have some _real_ fun." Rika taunted, shifting her feat and aiming a slightly pointed end of her bo at Kiken's throat.

A smirk graced Kiken's features. Whatever he had been before, he had certainly been a pacifist- and he knew that if it were anyone else, he would out-right refuse to fight them, unless it was a life-or-death situation.

But for some reason, Rika's challenge always made him ready to fight- she was a level above anything he had seen before, and, from what he could get out of her, many people in her world knew it. He apparently did, too, and she was quick to inform him that he had challenged her a number of times there as well.

He had no idea why, nor did it seem she wanted to speak any more of the subject- not that he cared. As far as he was concerned, the Digital World- really, the Southern Quadrant- was his home, and he wouldn't give it up for the world.

"Right back at you, Queenie."

He had no idea why Rika got so infuriated when he called her that (having accidentally referred to her as such during their first lesson under Mihiramon, and nearly given a concussion because of it), but it always made it more of a challenge to beat her- not that he ever really did. They always ended up collapsing on top of one another, or if Mihiramon was in the room, ended up attacking him, just to see the Deva's reaction.

He was not disappointed- Rika readily took the first charge, violet eyes glowing with barely suppressed rage, as she nearly speared him. He blocked, and took the next, striking his bo against her own, alarmingly close to her hands. Her eyes widened, before they lost their wrath- now it was a contest of skills- and Sovereigns help the person who dared to think that they could beat _her_ in a strategy game.

"Hae!"

**-------------CATSURAMON-----------------**

Catsuramon was impressed. Scared out of his mind, surprised beyond belief, and almost-angered to bursting for no reason whatsoever, but most certainly impressed.

The two had been going at it for a good half hour (as far as he could tell from the 'windows'), and both showed barely any sign of fatigue. Mihiramon had come by once to tell them off, but as they ignored him, he left, saying that the Tamed Digimon were on their way down to the dojo.

Catsuramon was under the impression that Mihiramon wanted _him_ to stop the two fighting humans- frankly, he quite liked his body parts the way they were, thank-you-very-much. So he stood just inside the door, waiting for one of the other two to notice him. But so wrapped up in their sparring match that he was just another possible casualty (as the floor, two windows, all the walls, and the dais near one side of the room could testify… if there was any left of them in the end to do so).

Catsuramon apparently also became so wrapped up in their match that he didn't notice the rather… large grouping of digimon behind him, including the Sovereign himself. Rika had just pulled off a rather complicated-looking move (that Mihiramon was _sure_ he hadn't taught them), bringing Kiken to his feet, and was about to slam her bo onto his torso, when he rolled out of her way, and pulled his bo into an angled position, swiping at her feet. The angle of the bo caused her to trip, even as she jumped over it, bringing her to the floor as well.

Quickly, Kiken pushed his bo length-wise across her neck, while she raised hers and pressed the pointed end into his back, ready to stab through at any time.

Pausing for a moment, they both looked at each other- then Kiken collapsed on top of her, both of their bos rolling away from them across the floor.

"Gah… need… drink…."

"Lay somewhere else, Gogglehead."

"Aw, but you're so-"

"Finish that and I swear you'll never get to see the outside corridor of this dojo again."

Kiken was quick to shut up, and rolled off her- but didn't move any further than her side, and she certainly didn't force him any further away.

"So… think Zhuqiamon will let us move onto swords?"

Rika paused, thinking. Then she shrugged, banging her fist on Kiken's chest. "Doesn't matter- I'm still gonna find the swords so that we can have roasty-toasty-kitty tomorrow after practice."

Kiken grinned, stretching and laying one arms across her waist- Rika froze, but then quickly relaxed- Kiken as just being annoying, as usual. "Hm… never tried that. Though, I doubt Mihiramon would appreciate it."

"He doesn't appreciate anything we do for him."

"Point."

They were silent again, before Kiken sat up, grinned goofily down at Rika. She felt her heart still, wondering if Kiken had remembered anything- then noticed the unusual flare that his crimson eyes had taken on, and promptly chastised herself internally for thinking that talking about roasted cat would make him remember anything.

"Hey, I know! I say we go get cleaned up, then head outside. It beets being in this dojo for most of the day, right?"

Rika nodded, refusing to move. "Sounds good. It smells like cat in here."

Kiken stood, reaching down to give Rika a hand up. She was about to swat it away, then changed her mind, knowing no one else would ever know about this, and grabbed it. All at once, she acted on instinct- and threw Kiken right over her head. He landed on his back on the floor with a crack, and gasped as all the air was knocked out of his lungs.

"And that's what you get for helping your enemies, Gogglehead."

"Yeah…." Kiken gasped, clenching his eyes shut. "Glad to help…."

Now Rika stood, and offered her own hand to Kiken. She knew he wouldn't throw her like she did him- Kiken was still Takato, memory or not. He grabbed her hand, and pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his back. Rika didn't let it go unnoticed. "What's up, Gogglehead? Getting weak in your old age?"

"Ha ha… ow, no. Something in my back cracked, and it hurt like-"

"Hell, I know. Kneel on the floor- I think I know what's wrong."

Kiken paused, knowing full well that even if Rika helped him, he would only get pain in the end for making her act nice. But his back did hurt, and he decided that he could stand a few moments of pain afterwards instead of this pain that probably wouldn't go away all that quickly.

She kneeled behind him, pressing certain pressure points she remembered both Yamaki and, amazingly, her grandmother point out to her and her own mother respectively. Yamaki had decided Rika might need it on her 'mission'- Makino-san had decided that Rika's mother, Rumiko, needed to know it for during her shoots.

Upon pressing an area on the lower-right of his back, and hearing a sickening crunch and Kiken's yelp of pain, Rika was sure she had hit the right spot. "How to do feel?"

"Like my back's broken."

"Any more pain from moving?" Rika was a master at ignoring his complaints by now.

"Er… not from moving. Just whatever the hell you just did to me."

"Then I've done my job."

They both stood without the other's help, and were about to move out the same door Mihiramon had left through, when a red blur ran into the room, tackling Kiken to the ground.

"Takatomon!"

Kiken looked down at the red reptile currently lying on top of him. "Er… hi?" He managed to choke out, unable to breath.

Renamon entered, pulling Guilmon off the crimson-eyed Tamer. "Calm down, Guilmon. Remember what Antylamon told us."

Guilmon nodded quickly, turning his head back to Kiken, and cocking it sideways. "HI!" He smiled, waving cheerfully.

Kiken watched him, already feeling a connection. _'So this is who Rika and Zhuqiamon were talking about….'_ As weird as the red dragon was, Kiken couldn't help but imitate the goofy grin on his supposed partner's face.

"Hello, Guilmon! I don't think I remember you, but I will!"

Guilmon's grin only got bigger. "Yeah! Will Takatomon make Guilmon bread for Guilmon?"

Kiken blinked. "Er… what?"

**------------------WAY BACK… SOMEWHERE-------------**

He ran his fingers through his hair again, staring at the shed. Why hadn't he said good-bye to Rika when she left? Why hadn't he come? Why hadn't he even tried to help her in the month before she left? Why-

He stopped his train of thought as another young woman ran up to him. "Henry, what are you doing?"

Henry turned back to the shed. "I'm just worried about Rika. Why weren't we here that day? Why didn't we come say goodbye? Why-"

Although it felt good to voice his frustrations out loud to someone, and have them listen (as he had always been able to do with Takato), he couldn't lay all of his problems on Jeri. Takato was used to it- he was their unofficial leader, although Rika and Ryo continuously contested that fact, but Jeri was barely over the D-Reaper incident, and the terrorist attack had brought back those memories best left suppressed and forgotten. She didn't need any more problems added to her own.

"I'm sorry, Jeri. I just feel guilty."

She cocked her head. "Why? Rika will find Takato- you know how she refuses to let up on him, especially when he does something stupid like this."

Henry eyed her, not wanting to say anything to worry her. "I know- I just want them to both come back, and safely."

"Again, there's nothing to worry about! Even if Rika isn't able to defeat every single person she sees- as unlikely as that is- Takato would help her!" Jeri's upbeat and cheery personality worked wonders on Henry, and for a moment, he almost thought that everything would be alright.

But then his father's words came back to him, and he quickly found himself dropping right back into the semi-depression (or as depressed as he could get without going psycho-philosophical). Putting on a small smile so as not to worry her, Henry nodded, turning his back on the shed- although he felt as though he _should_ be going to it, _should_ be trying to access the portal, _should_ be looking around to discover why he felt like he was being watched.

Jeri walked beside him, shooting occasional dark glances at the shed. For some reason, she was able to force herself to blame the shed for everything that had happened, starting with the terrorist attack. As she looked up at Henry's somber face, she decided to blame the shed for everything and anything, including Henry's current bad mood.

The thought crossed her mind to go visit her shrink again- but she quickly scowled at herself, turning it into a smile as Henry looked at her with a raised eye brow. She didn't need _him_ anymore- not the one that had taken her away from her friends for nearly a year. She most certainly did not need any kind of help, either- she had Henry, her mother and her father, and that was all that mattered.

…

They walked in silence towards Hypnos, their feet guiding them towards the building, even though they didn't realize it. At the last second, however, Henry chose to steer Jeri away from the new twin towers that were the Specialized Authoritative Government Agency offices- SAGA.

It had been in the news paper and on the news for the last few days, just after Rika left. The Government had released a number of pieces of information in regards to the terrorist attacks, as well as the strange events after it, using all their legal mumbo-jumbo to confuse the general public (or the "IM", or Ignorant Masses, as Yamaki called them) so that they wouldn't be able to understand what happened- just that the Government had an idea of what everything was about, and that was usually enough for the IM.

However, some reports had caught on, at least slightly- obviously, this information was in reference to the D-Reaper events of one year ago, the Government having finally released the name of what they were calling it. But none of the normal Government Agencies had really been working on said attack at that time, nor just after it.

Curiosity peaked, many began asking, or at least wondering, what had been keeping track of these events then? Obviously, someone in relation to the Government, and not just the municipal Government, either. Other countries were also curious- why had all this new information surfaced now, when they had been preparing for a year already since the D-Reaper events in case the same thing happened to them?

Japan couldn't do any major cover-ups, not with Superpower nations breathing down their necks. So they renamed Hypnos SAGA, a specialized Government Agency that dealt with undercover, and generally disreputable work- like a spy agency.

The US was quick to demand a list of people in SAGA, and if there were any in their country- the response was an altered description of SAGA- or, should it be said, more specific.

"_The Government has recently released more information regarding the Specialized Authoritative Government Agency- SAGA. SAGA is known for it's coverage of the D-Reaper events, as they are now being called, and the terrorist attack of last month…."_

"_SAGA is an INTERNAL organization that deals with information and dealings that the other Government Offices and Agencies refuse or do not have the ability or capacity to perform. SAGA deals strictly with inside information, and has no connections whatsoever to outside Japan…."_

"_INTERNAL Organizations- or Inside Terminality Organizations- are generally Government-sponsored organizations that deal with under-handed and usually illegal or disreputable political and national business. They are used to gather information and deal with anything and everything that the Government does not want to have it's name beside…."_

"_Many might recognize famous INTERNAL Organizations, like the rumored Section 9 of our own Government, and the supposed 'Section 13' and 'Section 99' of the US Government…."_

Henry had been surprised at how well the SAGA cover-up worked: on the outside, it was a secret INTERNAL Organization called SAGA. On the inside, it was a super-secret, possibly illegal, other-world monitoring organization called Hypnos. Apparently, the Federal Government had decided that the Hypnos servers, utilities and information were just a part of SAGA that was coded so that they couldn't understand it.

Janyuu had never been so grateful that the IM liked to have hard, solid facts and not unlikely possibilities before they made any conclusions, since no information was coded in any way, unless one was to count the usual encryptions the Monster Makers and Hypnos teams put on all their work.

And it was obvious, too- when Henry had visited his father after school, Janyuu had explained what the fancy black car was doing outside, and why he and everyone else looked so stressed out, accidentally mentioning the 'Gate Problem' in the process.

The now-uncertain return of the two missing Tamers (who, as luck would have it, happened to be half of the Bio-merging team) had caused Henry to suddenly feel guilty for not being there for them when they needed it- Takato after the terrorist attack, and Rika when she was leaving to try and find Takato.

Jeri looked back up at Henry. "What is it? You look worried…"

Henry blinked, deciding to warn her about the new development in the SAGA cover-up. "Jeri, you know the SA-"

"It's kind of hard not to know about SAGA, since the whole city is talking about it." Jeri cut in, smiling gently.

Henry was glad she didn't say anything about a 'cover-up'. "You see, the Hypnos team knows our names, and probably has them written down somewhere in their data base. The Feds came by today to check up on the servers and 'SAGA' offices- they completely scanned the servers, looking at all the information inside.

"Dad doesn't know if they found our names- the Monster Makers don't need the list, but the Hypnos team near definitely has one lying around somewhere so that they can contact us if they need us. So, if someone starts talking to you about SAGA or anything-"

"Don't worry, Henry! I'll be fine- I think it's Suzie, Ai and Mako we need to worry about. Do you want to go warn them now?"

Henry smiled down at her, the 'Gate Problem' temporarily forgotten. Seeing his younger sister and the two twin Tamers, all three so much younger than himself, always brightened his mood.

**----------LATER…ISH-------------**

Time passed- again- and quickly Kiken and Guilmon were inseparable, Rika and Renamon just as close. And with Rika and Kiken training together nearly every second (whether they were supposed to or not), the four were- in general- just as inseparable.

Terriermon, having no reason to stay at the Palace, headed back to the forested level, intent on finding the Burgermon that lived there. He had left in high spirits, although obviously disappointed to not find his partner.

Kiken almost felt sorry for the little guy, until Terriermon had hit him with an attack and informed him that if he was to so much frown that Terriermon would have to use the digi-gnomes to evolve and completely _destroy_ him.

Kiken was quite happy to act happy.

Zhuqiamon had indeed let them use swords the next day, and even supplied Renamon and Guilmon with two swords- until Guilmon just about stabbed himself. It was quickly decided that the two rookies could just as easily train using their own attacks.

Another whole month had since passed, and both sets of partners were quickly improving. Zhuqiamon looked pleased with their progress (though he didn't show it), and Mihiramon had became more of a sparring partner than any kind of instructor. Rika and Renamon had been doing extra night training- for the first few weeks they had merely sat around and 'gotten to know each other' again.

And then they had been allowed to go to the desert level while Kiken worked with Guilmon on evolving to Champion. The Mammothmon had returned for round 2, and although Taomon could easily take most of the out, biomerging had proven to be a far more efficient method of 'waste removal'.

When Sakuyamon had arrived back at the palace later that night, Kiken and Guilmon had been the only ones waiting her arrival- and Kiken had been just about ready to attack the Shaman. But Guilmon readily jumped on Sakuyamon, almost knocking her over, even as she de-evolved into Rika and Renamon.

"Wha… Rika? What were you doing-"

Rika walked over and none-too-gently whapped Kiken on his head. "That is the ultimate evolution process, Gogglehead- Biomerging. And you happen to be the one who started this whole thing."

Kiken blinked, surprised. "You mean- I could- wait, what?"

Rika dragged him back into the palace, explaining everything to him as though she was talking to a four year old- and the way that Kiken looked at her, she might as well have been. Renamon and Guilmon trailed behind, Renamon coming down off the high and Guilmon just glad to have his sparring partner back.

Zhuqiamon actually seemed a bit impressed, and then commanded Mihiramon, Rika and Renamon to all up the training level Kiken was working at. In the mean time, Rika and Renamon made sure that the other partners got enough time to themselves so that they could regain their bond.

And apparently, it worked.

The morning that marked the one month anniversary of Kiken and Rika's first real 'training' day, Kiken came bounding out of his room, nearly running into Rika and Shurri, who had been practicing with spears in the hallway as Mihiramon was still working on fixing the dojo from their last training session.

Rika had jumped out of the way, causing Kiken to crash directly into Shurri, even as Shar, Guilmon and Renamon appeared from around a corner. Guilmon immediately waddled over, looking at the tangle of limbs that was a digimon and human- and a spear.

"Where is Kikenmon?"

Renamon had joined him, pulling the spear out of the pile so that Kiken, being Takato, would not injure himself anymore than he probably would anyways. The two had something detangled themselves, and while Shurri stood back up, Kiken remained on the floor, grinning like an idiot.

"Guess what?"

Renamon and Guilmon cocked their heads in attention, Shar and Shurri stood patiently (Shurri nursing a small scratch on his armor), and Rika crouched down in front of the other human. "Spit it out, Gogglehead."

Kiken merely grinned, and took Rika's hands in his own. "Teach me to play the card game again? I remember the game and the basic rules, and that we used it…."

Teaching him to play the game again had been a topic that Rika hadn't even thought about- but now that she did, she decided now was the best time to do so. "Alright- but on one condition."

Kiken blinked. "What?"

"I lied- two conditions. One: you don't tell _anyone, ever_ about getting lessons from me. Two…."

"Yes?" Kiken looked so cheerful, Rika couldn't carry through with her other threat, and instead directed it to a more short-time idea.

"Two: You let go of my hand."

Kiken hurriedly dropped said appendage, even as Rika smirked and grabbed him by the wrist to pull him to his feet.

…

As the day continued, other developments were made. Shar and Shurri opted to return to their hidden village, as they had been away from it for so long. Everyone was sad to see them go (Mihiramon especially- when the two humans weren't beating up on him, they were beating up on the two Shurrimon), but there were no tears, and only a promise to see each other soon and compare their skills.

The news that Rika would be teaching Kiken somehow spread around the Palace after midday (Rika had the sneaking suspicion that Shurri had told everyone before he had left), and so the afternoons, whenever they weren't training their bodies, were therefore spent in card game lessons.

Zhuqiamon left for another of his Sovereign meetings, and informed everyone that he would be touring around the other Quadrants for the next day at least. If any important decisions were to be made, they were to be postponed if possible- and if not possible, then the Devas would hold a council, Kiken and Rika (and their partners) staying as out of the Devas way as possible not only during council, but at all times.

As usually it was the Devas staying out of the human's way, there was no problem.

So Kiken and Rika headed up to the 'ramparts', which were basically just a thin, even strip of rock near the top of the Palace, while the rest of the Citadel-like structure's roofs were slanted horribly so that not even Zhuqiamon could get a good enough grip without puncturing the tiles.

The 'sun' was setting, the Devas were already in a council (basically trying to decide if they should try and round up some digi-gnomes), and the red of the Sovereign's level was only tinted either red-er, or more orangey-colored. It was the only time of the day when the otherwise colorless landscape took on any from or appearance of life in an otherwise barren landscape.

"Technically, it's not really sunset…." Kiken mused, frowning at the Earth-Sphere which still rotated in the sky as the sun, even though the changing colors clearly stated that it should technically be setting below the horizon.

Rika shrugged. "Just be glad we actually get some kind of warning up here when the time changes."

"The Earth-Sphere acts as both sun _and_ moon, so it can never truly set." Renamon piped up from somewhere behind the two humans who sat on the edge of the ramparts, legs dangling over the side.

Kiken grinned and Rika smirked, Guilmon commenting that he was hungry and going to try and find some food, as Renamon decided she would go with him to make sure he didn't eat the walls.

A comfortable silence passed between the two, and all at once Kiken decided something. "That's it- every single night I'm coming up here to watch this. As you said, this is the closest thing we have here to the Human World, right? So that means we have to appreciate it even more!"

The goofy grin was back on his face, and Rika was almost able to convince herself that the terrorist attack hadn't happened, that Takato hadn't left and subsequently lost all memory- but it was just a sham, and the small, nearly invisible scar on his cheek bone, mirroring the shape on his eye, was a testament to that.

Instead, she turned her head back to the sunset. "Then I might join you- whether you mind or not."

Kiken grinned, knowing that was Rika's way of asking, even if she hadn't phased it as a question. "I don't mind- you're as close to my 'old life' as I'm apparently going to get."

That, for some reason, stung her. _'Is that the only reason he appreciates my company? I don't give a damn, but….'_

She eyed him, and he seemed to realize what he had said.

"Not that I meant anything by it! I just… it feels… nice, ya know? I have this whole past and all these expectations everyone expects me to live up to, and I have no idea what I'm doing, absolutely no clue- just going with the flow, doing what feels right…. And in the midst of everything, here you are, helping me getting back what I lost, even though I bet you'd rather be pounding me into the ground instead…. And I just can't help but feel that, maybe, you're doing it cause you might care, or something… and I really, really appreciate it. I really, really like your help, and I really, really…" a blush stained his face, and he turned away into the 'sunset' again, glad it was almost all the way down. "Gah, I forgot what I was going to say…."

He looked so sheepish, Rika couldn't help but grin- and not her usual smirk, either. Whereas his words had once stung her, she now felt herself appreciating him and his unique way with words all the more. Although she was curious about what his final sentence was, she left it alone, as he had done for her the numerous times she had almost slipped up and told him something she and Zhuqiamon had agreed not to tell him.

As it finally became 'night', neither moved from their positions. A cool wind whipped up, and, if they strained, they could almost hear crickets, and other small creatures of the night.

**----------END OF STORY… ER, CHAPTER-----------**

Alrightie, well, I've decided to revert back to my old, wonderful breaks (see the one just above here) because going through the whole damn thing _after_ I upload it was one big pain, as my breaks never seemed to get uploaded with the chapter itself….

Hrm, I keep checking to make sure this is the right length for Running, since I'm so used to writing around 32 some-odd pages in Arial size 10 for RttOW, and yet I use around 15 pages, Verdana size 10 for this… weird. And yes, 10 is an excellent number- just small enough so that when I'm working on this at school and my teachers are coming around to make sure we aren't doing anything that doesn't include "If…Then" statements or "The type of symmetry used in this piece is…" they can't tell, because they're blind.

Oh yes, right. Another chapter up. I've decided to keep writing this now, since I seem to be able to work on a chapter for this a LOT faster than RttOW (I started this chapter about a week ago… go me!). Right, well- off we go to upload it. Oh, and here's a little, 'original' piece from me, basically depicting something that happens nearly every day….

**--------SUPER-BONUS-EXTRA! (While listening to Butterfly Kiss, the Opening theme of Rave)------**

"Alright, start logging off the computers- and remember to _save_ the program you're working on before you go to lunch!"

"Yes sir!"

Random clicking, bags shuffling, and a quickly escalating noise level signaled the end of another "Computer and Information Science class"- also known as Programming 101.

"Ami, you better run if you want the Chicken Burgers!"

"See you down there, Cleo!"

"Come on, Aila, let's go!"

"Let me unplug my headphones!"

"Will you log off, Potago? Re, you can read more during 4th!"

No response, even as everyone started yelling at once something akin to, "Bye sir!"

Mr. Padilla looked up for a moment from his _own_ programming assignment for Correl, but smiled and waved to the departing students.

Three such students finally emerged from the class, the dubbed 'Potago' rubbing her head where the other two had hit her before she logged off. "Alright, alright! Sorry! But it was so good…." Grabbing a dog tag through her uniform blouse and pushing shoulder-length, straight black hair out of her face, and almost knocking her glasses off in the process, Anjelina I-E shifted her books cradled in her arms and hefted her backpack up higher on her back.

The second in the group, a slightly plump but strong-willed (and big-mouthed), Heidi rolled her eyes. "Hate to tell you, Anj, but we're late now."

The final girl in the group, the one who had earlier dubbed Anjelina 'Potago' laughed as she opened her locker and allowed the other two to dump their textbooks into it, before putting her own in and taking out her Advanced Chemistry text for her last period.

"Which is change of pace- we're either early or we're later because of _you_, Hei-chan." Angela bore her backpack on her left shoulder, pushing her long, wavy light-brown hair out of her face and fixing the headphones that had been sitting on her ears playing the Fullmetal Alchemist Best Of Soundtrack since the end of first Period- Advanced Physics.

Heidi grumbled as Anjelina moved to snatch one of Angela's headphones- but grabbed her hand back as the blue-eyed girl found herself reacquainted for the third time that day with the pole between the stairwell double doors that led from the top floor of Main building past the main floor, and down to the basement, where the cafeteria was located.

"Ow…."

Laughing, the three somehow made it down the stairs to the caff, grabbing their usual table against the wall across from the windows, second from the back. Angela through her bookbag down on the table, grabbed her purse, and ran into the lineup before the usual throng made it impossible to get any kind of food within ten minutes. Anjelina stood by the microwaves, watching her dim sum warming up, while Heidi waited for their friends who had to make the perilous journey from St. John's building- which was really just the top floor of an elementary school that had been converted into the Math building.

A brown-eyed Spanish girl with long, brown hair tied back in two braids which were tied together at the base of her skull, accompanied by another light-skinned brown-haired blue-eyed girl and a blue-eyed blonde entered the caff, and immediately glomped both Angela and Anjelina (who happened to be standing side-by-side at the time, waiting for Angela to move up in line and Anjelina to get her food).

"Angels! How ya doing?"

Angela rolled her eyes as she was then glomped by the brown-haired girl, and simply hugged by the blonde. "Ne, Cel- where's your gloves?"

Aracely, the Spanish girl wiggled her hands, now decorated with countless silver rings, her fingernails, which had been fashioned into claws, coming dangerously close to Angela's face. "It's not hot enough outside to wear the gloves! And see, look! I have the same ring you do!"

Aracely held up Angela's hands, which also were festooned with countless rings- some silver, some gold, and three with her birthstone- Peridot- on them. The same phoenix-shaped ring wrapped around Angela's left pointer finger and Aracely's right thumb.

The brown-haired girl dragged Angela further into line as she called back, "Me and Ang will see you guys at the table!"

Anjelina took her dim sum from the microwave as the three nodded, and headed towards Heidi.

The brown-haired girl turned her attention to Angela. "Friend!"

"Weirdo!"

They both grinned, taking a moment to order a 'Chicken Burger with French fries, please," and "A piece of pizza, super-please!" Angela rolled her eyes as she collected her Burger and fries, grabbing a Nestea and bag of Harvest Chedder Sunchips as they passed through the snack section, the other somehow finding a jumbo Aero bar.

"Jen, you coming to Heid' b-day party this weekend?"

Jen rolled her eyes. "How could I not? Yami might be there!"

Angela coughed, nearly choking on air as she tried to restrain her laughter. Jen blinked at her, completely confused. "What? Was it something I said?" Angela burst out laughing, handing her money over to Samra, the woman who always tended the money in the caff. Jen imitated her, both taking the time to ask Samra how she was, which they were responded to with a nod and a gentle shove to get them out of the way.

One ketchup table later, they were sitting at the table with the others, another person having joined them. "Maggie, hey!" Jen gave her a hug as Angela slapped her on the shoulder.

Angela was about to sit down to eat when a timid voice behind her spoke up. "Er, Angela…."

The blue-eyed girl turned around to see another girl in her grade standing behind her. Trying not to look disappointed, Angela smiled as kindly as she possibly could. "Hi, Era."

"Would you explain number 2 to me?"

"Eh, 2? Er… oh, right. You have the mass already, so you just need to find the molar mass using your periodic table, m'kay? That gives you mols. So you take the mol ratio from the equation- yep, that thing there- and… oh, that's easy. It's a two-to-two ratio, so it's the same number of mols for each, 'kay?"

Era nodded, quickly jotting down what she could. "And then…."

Angela blinked, before returning to the papers before her. "Oh, then you use mols and the concentration they gave you in the question to find the volume. Right?"

Era nodded again, grinning. "Thanks Angela, you're very helpful."

Angela smiled again, waving until Era turned the corner out of the caff before stopping her letting her head fall on the table with a groan, Anjelina barely able to move the plate of food out of the way.

"Why can't she bother someone else?"

Anjelina shrugged. "'cause you're the only one here that is willing to explain stuff to her that is taking Chemistry."

"Lazy bums…." Angela muttered- before sitting up straight. "Alright, FOOD TIME!" She blinked, seeing nearly half her French fries gone and tell-tale ketchup stains on Anjelina's fingers. "Hey!"

"What? We're twins!" Anjelina defended, pushing the plate back to Angela.

Glowering, she dug in.

**----------END SUPER-BONUS-EXTRA -- PART 1!---------**

M'kay, part 2 to come next chapter. I was originally going to do a number of highlights of some of our wonderful 'conversations'- and I might during each chapter. Meh, I don't care- it's fun. And yes, everyone depicted here are actual people. Including me. Try and guess who's who.

**Hope you enjoyed it- it being everything here. I'll start on the next chapter now! Ja!**

**REVIEW! IT MAKES A STRUGGLING STUDENT HAPPY! (And extremely behind on her work….)**

_**Oh yes, a song. Erm... Butterfly Kiss, the Rave Opening Theme (I downloaded the first episode... for being titled after dance parties, I haven't found a single mention of a dance yet. But super-good... Pule is so CUTE!)**_


	13. Water, Relationships and Evolutions

_**Running**_

**Chapter 13: Water, Relationships, and Evolution**

**Disclaimer:** The day I own digimon, there will be another five seasons.

**Warnings:** Nothing of any real consequence. Eh, a bit of the Rukato starting to peak through (or more), but there's nothing to bad in here. Of course, this comes after I was told that I "couldn't have someone say anything worse than 'darn', 'dern', or 'donkey dung' in this chapter. It was a challenge.

Of course, now I want to send that friend to a shrink and get them to stop reading 'Circle of Magic' books, but... hey, what can ya do?

Hm, long time no write. Blame my computer. Onto chapter 13! (That was written, but has since been erased, due to that virus-y-thing).

* * *

Water usually has a calming effect on people. If you get a psychotic child, fill a sink or tub with water, and let them play in it for a bit, it generally helps to reduce the hyperness- and everyone else's stress **(1)**. 

It also apparently works just as well on overly-excited digimon.

Whereas the group that had joined Kiken and Rika for their trip down to the forest level had been happy-go-lucky through most of the trip, the moment that they had reached the large river they had jumped in and had immediately calmed down- ish.

At least now they're weren't imitating Guilmon and asking stupid questions.

Mihiramon growled as an Otamamon splashed him, but he didn't jump into the river to attack the small rookie- instead, he waited patiently, stalking the river. A Deva he might be, but that was _water_- and he was technically a cat.

Kiken chuckled as he pulled himself out of the water, reaching over to Rika who held a towel out for him. He wasn't sure why she was being so nice- until he saw the small, worm-like bugs that had been spread over every available surface on the inside of the towel. He yelped and threw the fabric into the river, the bugs quickly swimming off.

Rika burst out laughing at him, and the others who had seen what had happened joined in. Renamon even chuckled, but Kiken pouted- and then grinned, plopping down next to Rika on her towel.

He wrapped his arms around her in a loose hug, but she immediately squirmed and tried to push him off. "I- hate- HUGS!"

Kiken held tighter, intending on annoying her as much as possible. Eventually, Renamon had to help push him off- but that was all the time he had needed. Rika was mostly wet, glaring at him- and then turning her back to him, as offended as possible.

"Aw, what's wrong, Rika? Don't like being wet?"

She whirled around to glare at him- and he found himself immediately backing off, slightly awed but mostly afraid.

"Of _course_ I don't like being _wet_, Gogglehead! What, does the idea of 'sun tanning' not _exist_ where you're from?!"

Kiken blinked at her and cocked his head. "Erm… no?"

Rika tried very, _very_ hard not to smack her head- or, more accurately, his. Fortunately, Mihiramon pranced over at that moment, looking at the two humans. "Well? This _was_ your idea- what are we doing down here?"

Rika shrugged and gestured to the river (making sure to hit Kiken in the head as she went). "It was mainly to see if he could actually _drown_ in this water. Unfortunately…." She gestured to the not-drowned, still-alive Kiken as she and Mihiramon shared a smirk.

"Ah, yes. How… _wonderful_ that he hasn't yet. Perhaps we should try and see if it works to you're tied to a rock?"

Kiken stood up quickly and jumped back in the river, where neither Rika nor Mihiramon could reach him.

Rika laughed aloud, nodding to Mihiramon. "So, kitty. What did you _really_ want?"

Mihiramon walked- well, actually, prowled, around Rika, laying down so that he was laid out completely on the ground- and surrounding her.

"Listen well to me, human. I don't know what's going on between _you_ and _him_, but I happen to be under strict orders that if you should become less of a focus and more of a distraction, I can _remove_ you."

Rika snorted. "Really? And how would I become a distraction? As long as I can be one step ahead of him- even half a step- he looks up to me and tries to do everything I do. He _wants_ to get better because _I_ happen to be better. The moment I become a distraction is the moment we can both be considered 'perfect'."

Mihiramon eyed her, then chuckled in a low, sadistic way. "Apparently, even _you_ do not realize what's happening. Interesting…."

Rika glared at him, body tensing though she did not move from her relaxed position. "Oh, really? And what, pray tell, has been happening?"

"Nothing a human needs to concern herself with."

"It probably is, since it seems to be the only thing that could turn this from paradise to hell for me."

Mihiramon looked at her startled. "Paradise?" He let out a low growl. "And what about all those _wonderful_ things you brats worked so hard to protect in _your_ world?"

Rika shrugged. "School, putting up with people, putting up with my mom, work- only a crazy person would stay there if they could stay here." She said it nonchalantly, hoping that she could get him to tell her whatever it was she didn't know.

"Then that is why the Knight has come here?" Both Rika and Mihiramon looked up, startled, to find Catsuramon standing before them. "The human world is too hard to live in?"

Rika growled. "It's not too _hard_- it's that every human is trying to kill another for _no god damned reason_. Senseless massacre- that's it. West Shinjuku, for example, was hit by a terrorist bomb, and has since been demolished- and probably rebuilt." Rika commented idly.

Catsuramon frowned. "Is that not where we- what do you _humans_ call it? Bio-emerged?"

Rika nodded slowly. "They missed the park, thank whatever gods are out there- that's where the portal _here_ is."

Catsuramon nodded slightly, glaring lightly at her. "Has Mihiramon spoken to you?"

"If you call that 'speaking'- I _still_ don't know what he's referring to." And she slapped Mihiramon's hind quarters to show her anger and frustration.

Although Mihiramon growled, Catsuramon quickly hushed the tiger Deva, favouring Rika with one of his eyes as his other surveyed where everyone else was. Finally he explained, Rika listening carefully.

"Your relationship with Kiken appears to be something more than platonic." Rika opened her mouth to protest- but shut it, wanting to hear the rest of what Catsuramon was saying. "_If_ this will help to focus Kiken's energy on training, then it shouldn't be a problem. If it doesn't, we will have to remove you from the picture."

"What makes you think it _isn't_ platonic?" _'Why the hell am I not denying this?'_

"Maybe because he woke us up once, calling for you." Mihiramon growled lowly, Rika barely able to hear.

She did, though, and blushed red enough to shame any sunset. "He doesn't think of me like that," she dismissed, waving her hand as though shooing something away.

Catsuramon didn't move, blink, or even seem to breathe. Instead, he stated calmly, "He does, even if he doesn't realize it. And you have yet to deny _your_ side of the relationship."

"Just remember that we don't care what you two do in your personal time- as long as you don't get distracted- or distracting." Mihiramon warned, and both he and Catsuramon left as Kiken climbed out of the river again, seeing it was safe and he wasn't about to get pummelled.

"Hey Rika. Er, sorry about-"

She shushed him, grabbing his wrist and forcing him to sit down again. He eyed her, but didn't comment- he let her throw his other towel over his head and quickly dried off.

"Having fun?" She finally asked him as they both lay, warming their bodies in the sun.

Kiken nodded, smiling a bit as he stretched out on his back. "You have to come in. The water's great."

Rika snorted, eyeing him from her position on her stomach. "Right."

Kiken held up his hands defensively. "I won't try to get you in the water if you don't want to."

She nodded, turning her head away from him and laying it down on her folded arms. "Good."

They lay there in silence, before Mihiramon said something or other that caught Kiken's attention. He looked over at the Deva, lips curled in a smirk. "Yeah, right! Like you really could jump that far!"

Mihiramon stalked over to him, glaring the entire time. "Care to bet, _human_?"

Kiken continued to smirked, not backing down from the imposing figure before him. "Sure. I bet that Guilmon and I could jump all the way across the river- without flying or levitating or whatever you do that makes you able to stay in the air."

"You're on, human."

The two of them lined up along the banks- Kiken on Guilmon's back, Mihiramon beside them.

"Ready boy?" Kiken asked, watching as everyone else cleared away from that part of the river in case either the Deva or tamer-pair fell early.

"Guilmon always ready to play a game with Kikenmon!"

Kiken laughed as a group of Otamamon crowded onto a small 'island' sticking up out of the water. Standing on top of one another, they made a small tower of blue-black bodies, waving dangerously back and forth. The top one was able to get his balance long enough to say, "Ready! Steady- I SAID STEADY! **GO!!!**"

The final 'go' knocked the whole tower over, sending them cascading into the river. Mihiramon and Guilmon launched themselves from the back at the same time, soaring over a number of heads. Guilmon and Kiken were beginning to sink faster than Mihiramon, though there wasn't much difference.

Well, there wasn't until Kiken, in turn, launched himself from Guilmon's back, easily making it the rest of the way across the river. Guilmon fell closest to the 'launch' bank, Mihiramon barely making it onto the island the Otamamon had fallen off of.

There was much cheering and screaming (especially with the splash from Guilmon that proceeded to soak many swimmers, including Mihiramon), and Kiken did a graceful bow- before loosing his balance and falling into the river.

That caused much laughing, especially as he purposefully made sure to soak Mihiramon again as he swam past.

Rika rolled her eyes at the antics, laying back down on the towel again. She didn't bother looking to see who took the empty space beside her- only one person ever would.

"Did you see that? Ha- I think we'll be eating kitty soup for dinner tonight!" Kiken spoke excitedly, watching as other digimon went against each other to see who could jump the furthest.

Rika snorted, turning her head to see what had caught his attention- and quickly turning it away again to avoid the splash from someone's failed jump. "Excellent. I was getting hungry."

Mihiramon walked past them now, shooting a glare at Kiken- who only laughed and waved.

Rika reached over to throw another towel at him lest he get her wet again, and Kiken gratefully took the offered textile, rubbing it through his hair before patting himself dry.

"Having fun, Gogglehead?"

"Lots. You should join- you could get across the river no problem, with or without Renamon. Though you'd probably end up in the trees with her…."

Rika shot him a glance, watching his thoughtful face carefully. There _was_ something different about him- she wasn't entirely sure what, but turned away again, fully intending to ignore him.

As such, she didn't see Kiken had signalled Renamon to be quiet, reached over to the same Otamamon who had started the jumping, and took a woven reed basket that he had asked to be made. It was as water-tight as any plastic sheet, and he smirked as he looked into the basket filled with water.

He took careful aim, removing his towel to allow for a quick get-away and-

Rika had been wondering why Kiken was so quiet. He was usually annoyingly talkative, and silence was generally known to be a bad thing with him. She had just been turning her head to ask what his problem was, when she felt a large amount of cold, wet water splashing down on her. It took her a moment to register what had happened before her eyes narrowed and she rounded on him, ready to kill.

"**GOGGLEHEAD!"**

Mihiramon and Catsuramon looked on the chase scene that followed- apparently, as Rika was now already wet, she had no reserves jumping into the river to chase down and _massacre_ Kiken. They were both smirking- this, at least, would hopefully work off any extra feelings either of them had.

Renamon just shook her head while Guilmon looked on, confused. "Renamon, why is Rikamon doing that to Kikenmon?" _That_ just happened to be holding his head under the water, which she gave up when she remembered that you could breathe the water here. This, therefore, led to both of them ducking under the waves, apparently fighting an underwater battle.

Renamon watched as Kiken resurfaced, trying to make a break for the shore- before he was pulled back again by a hand that was undoubtably Rika's. "Because your tamer is a pest to Rika."

"Oh… what is a 'pestu Ricca'? Is that food? Can I have some?"

Renamon shot him a severe look of disbelief, turning her head away to see if she couldn't find where their tamers had gone now. "Never mind, Guilmon."

"Okie dokie, Renamon."

Meanwhile, Kiken was struggling for his life. Although one is generally able to breathe under water in the Southern Quadrant, it happens to be a fact of life that, Southern Quadrant or not, most people can't breathe if they happen to be in a choke hold.

Rika had, of course, been working on this certain manoeuvre for a while, making sure to perfect it so that she could easily bring down an opponent in a few seconds. The single thing that had kept her from knocking Kiken unconscious was that they were indeed underwater, meaning that her grip wasn't as strong as it could be.

He was eventually able to break out of her hold and use some more Otamamon, Gekomon and Gomamon to cover his escape further up stream, away from the crowd.

Rika was not stupid. Disappearing into a crowd only worked for so long. She worked her way up the river bed, carefully keeping track of Kiken's progress. Neither was sure for how long they escaped and tracked upstream- frankly, it was almost tiring being around that many digimon, especially with most of them being rookies and lower and therefore having the energy of six-year-olds.

When Kiken finally stopped under a rock overhang, Rika darted forward to try and get him into another chokehold. Unfortunately, he turned around at the last moment, causing Rika to instead crash right into him and propel them further under the overhang.

As he crashed lightly against the back wall, Kiken dimly noticed that both of them had a faint look of surprise on their faces. He also not-so-dimly noticed that his arms had wrapped around the young female, holding her against his body.

Rika didn't know what she was doing as she laid her head against Kiken's chest, listening to the faint heartbeat. She didn't know why she looped her arms around his neck, nor why he, in turn, pulled her as tight against his body as possible.

It was only after her head tilted back and his bent forward, and only after their lips met in a gentle embrace, that she realized that Mihiramon and Catsuramon might have been right.

And, frankly, she couldn't care less.

* * *

That single kiss had some serious repercussions. The first was that, when both had come to their senses, Rika remembered why she was chasing Kiken in the first place and promptly punched him in the gut. This had the unfortunate effect of him becoming unconscious- Rika had to float him all the way back downstream. 

The second was that Mihiramon and Catsuramon refused to leave them alone together, making sure that someone else was there. Apparently, Renamon and Guilmon didn't count, as there was _always_ a Deva in whatever room they were in if they were together.

(Neither really cared about the Deva presence, as that allowed them to have extra training sessions and work off whatever stress they built while helping the Devas keep control of the Southern Quadrant while Zhuqaiomon was away)

The third was that Renamon and Guilmon themselves were acting oddly. Guilmon was always odd, but had been getting odder. This might have just been a side-effect, though, from Renamon keeping a closer eye on the two tamers, especially when a Deva wasn't around. Since Guilmon had no one to play with, he instead ate more, which caused Kiken to need to work out more with him, which in turn led to Rika and Renamon working out more and in turn gaining extra strength.

This working out caused them all to be hungry, and while eating Renamon would be carefully watching the two tamers, letting Guilmon eat more and starting the process all over again.

When the Devas noticed and asked them what they had been doing to get stronger and why, their response was usually something along the lines of 'Guilmon is turning into a ball'.

The only time that Rika and Kiken were able to get truly alone was when they sat on the ramparts, watching the 'sunrise' and 'sunset'. Theoretically, the ramparts were too narrow for anything to happen other than kissing, so no one felt a need to watch them at those times.

Instead of doing what everyone else seemed to expect them to do, however, they practiced by playing the card game, finding strengths and weaknesses and picking up on the other's, both for competition and aid in battle.

And so another month passed this way, and still Zhuqiaomon was out of the picture. The Devas were growing worried, as was everyone else in the citadel. Meals for the tamers and their training partners were few and far between as they didn't really need the food, most of their time spent on scouting missions and training.

It was during one of these few mealtimes that they still had (breakfast every other day, lunch every three days, dinner every two days) that Antylamon, who had been sent off to check the D-Reaper, reported back with almost annoying news.

"So. D-Reaper is still happily contained (how did you manage that, anyways?), there's been no trouble in any of the Quadrants, every other Sovereign has returned even if Baihumon later than the rest, yet the Southern Quadrant, apparently Sovereign-less, has yet to start falling apart at the seams. What the _hell_ is going on?!" Rika summed up, slamming her knife into the table, dangerously close to her hand.

Kiken reached over to loosen her grip around the knife, carefully removing all other possible weapons from her reach. "Rika, we don't know what's going on yet. You never know- maybe Zhuqiaomon got tired of us and decided to stay with Azulongmon or Baihumon or Ebonwumon for a bit. There's nothing that says that something bad has definitely happened."

"And that's the problem." Rika growled, turning to him. "There's no indication of anything. Either Zhuqiaomon's alive somewhere, or he's been deleted and his data absorbed by another digimon, making _them_ the Sovereign- except that maybe they don't know they're the new Sovereign and are just wandering around somewhere!"

Kiken nodded, thinking that possibility through as Rika stood up to prepare for her own scouting mission. As long as he couldn't biomerge with Guilmon, no one was letting him out of the citadel. Rika, being deemed able to do so, was free to go off to wherever she wanted and potentially get herself killed.

He pushed his annoyance with the Deva's over-protectiveness away as he stood to help Rika with her armour. It wasn't really that hard to get into, but it gave him a reason to be alone with her again, if only for a few seconds (she refused to let anyone else around, as getting into it required her to strip down to her undergarments).

They walked into her room, Kiken carefully shutting the door while Rika continued to her wardrobe and pulled out her armour, throwing it to the other tamer while she began to strip.

"Perhaps, Rika- perhaps Zhuqiaomon is alive somewhere, but not coming back, or not able to come back for whatever reason. He did say that he and the other Sovereigns were looking around the Quadrants- maybe they were looking for something specifically? And maybe the reason why Baihumon was late and Zhuqiaomon not back yet was because they had to guard whatever they found?"

He stopped as he saw the exasperated look on her face and he hurried over, silently, to help with the special material Yamaki had given her.

Rika sighed as she held her arms out for him to help pull the armour over. "Kiken, there's a lot of 'maybes' and 'ifs' in that idea- that doesn't help us."

He gave a harder jerk than he intended, shying away as she glared at him. "Neither does saying that Zhuqiaomon's been deleted and that someone else has become Sovereign."

"Plan for the worst and be pleasantly surprised."

It was his turn to sigh, moving on to help with her leggings. "We should also plan for the best and prepare to be disappointed."

Both were silent as the legs were finished, and Kiken grabbed the more metallic over-layer and began applying that. Finally, Rika spoke as she reached for her normal clothes that went overtop of the armour. "There should be a safe-guard for this Sovereign thing."

"Of course there is. The data is absorbed by whoever is closest- usually the one who did the destroying. If the data isn't absorbed by anything or anyone, then it is immediately reconfigured and the Sovereign just continues on wherever he/she/it left off," Kiken recited from memory, drawing a humourous look from the female tamer. "What?"

Rika laughed outright. "Great. You've also become a walking, talking text book."

Kiken frowned, but followed Rika out of her rooms and towards the ramparts, where their partners were waiting for them.

Renamon nodded to Kiken, a small smile on her face, as Guilmon practiced standing on his hands. Rika walked over to her partner, but turned back to Kiken suddenly, grabbing his hands. "We'll be surveying the Desert Level for two days. If we're not back by then, we've probably found something or gone to another level because we don't want to be around these idiots." There was no reason to include 'death'- Rika and Renamon were two of the best, and there was no one normally in the Southern Quadrant who could stand up to them- or, more to the point, no one who would.

If Zhuqiaomon had in fact been taken out and there was a new Sovereign, then they were either a ridiculously powerful Virus- in which case Kiken would need to learn to both biomerge and preferably mode change ASAP- or a ridiculously powerful data, in which case Rika and Renamon would be on even ground with them. The other option was a ridiculously powerful Vaccine, which wouldn't make sense as most Vaccines, especially out-of-Quadrant ones, would never think about taking out the Sovereign.

And those that did were dealt with by the Devas before any real plan could be formed.

Kiken nodded in response to Rika's travel destination, and gave her a quick, gentle kiss. She offered him a small smile before hurrying off to join Renamon.

Sakuyamon was gone within the minute, Guilmon waving goodbye to the biomerged mega with his tail.

Kiken laughed, calling Guilmon back inside. He somehow knew that they were both ready for the next step- ultimate evolution. But, as he had been told time and again, it wasn't good to force it- so he would wait, and do some intensive training over the next few days.

And by the time Sakuyamon returned, he and Guilmon would be ready for the next evolution.

* * *

"Alright, remember what we told you? _No_ forcing the evolution- just wish, swipe, and then heavily feed." 

Kiken nodded, most of his attention focused on Guilmon, who was already eating most of the food brought with them.

Rika had indeed returned within two days- in fact, she had been out barely one. Although everything had seemed fine, there was something _off_ about the Desert Level. The Devas had all gone down to check it out, in case it was some sort of joke.

Unfortunately, it was no joke- the Old One in the Hidden Village had confirmed that there had been a number of oddities recently, and that the patrols he had set out were returning with more and more reports of strange things happening- for example, rainbow-coloured data streams.

Kiken had seen the normal, red-pink streams, and could faintly remember something about a green stream. He had _never_ heard of a rainbow-coloured stream, and neither had any of the Devas or other digimon they had talked to.

There were a number of other reports that didn't make any sense- digimon deleting randomly, landscape and Levels being deleted by nothing, a noticeable lack of digi-gnomes and data packets, digimon being merged into one large being that subsequently needs to be destroyed less it destroy everything else, and rather odd patterns of evolutions- apparently, there had been one in the Hidden Village who had gone from rookie to mega, to champion, to ultimate, and was then deleted by some unknown, invisible being.

Although the Devas wanted Kiken to learn to biomerge immediately, Rika had kindly reminded them of a creature called 'Megidramon' (Kiken had no idea what she was talking about), which was enough to convince the Devas to let her decide when the next evolution stage was appropriate.

As it happened, Rika was all for rushing the process- at least to ultimate, anyways- and so he found himself standing barely within seeing distance of the citadel with Guilmon, Rika, Renamon, Mihiramon, Antylamon, Sandiramon, Catsuramon- and a whole _tonne_ of food.

"Are you paying attention?!"

Kiken jumped, grinning sheepishly at his 'trainer'. "Er- yes?"

"Then what did I just say?"

"To… keep my emotions only focused towards the positive side of the energies?"

Rika looked like she had been robbed of a treat, but nodded, gesturing over to the large red reptilian Virus. "Alright, smartass Gogglehead. Let's see what you've got."

Kiken stepped forward, calling Guilmon over to his side. "Do you remember how to do this, boy?"

Guilmon blinked up at his partner. "Of course, Kikenmon. Guilmon needs to believe in Kikenmon."

Kiken nodded slowly, though one part of this still seemed a little… weird. _'Rika keeps saying that the digi-gnomes are supposed to help with this 'matrix evolution'. But none are around… what am I supposed to do?'_

He shoved those thoughts aside for another time- right now, what he had to concentrate on was the evolution process.

"Alright, Guilmon! Ready?"

"Ready, Kikenmon!"

Kiken drew a random card from his holster- whatever felt right, Rika had told him- and held it before his face, closing his eyes so he wouldn't see what he had drawn and instead focus on that instead.

'_I wish to help Guilmon get to ultimate so that we will be better able to help Rika and Renamon- Sakuyamon- in defending this Quadrant.'_

He felt an odd sensation running from his mind and heart towards his hands, which he took to be a good thing. Raising the D-Arc, he was about to bring it in contact with the card and-

"Gogglehead! Stop, damnit!"

He paused, opening his eyes and blinked as he noticed an odd light coming from the tops of his hands. Looking carefully at them, he noted that the Digital Hazard was showing through the gloves he wore.

Rika grabbed his arm, pulling it down to get a better look at the card he had called. They both blinked, surprised.

"What's wrong? You said it was supposed to be blue?" He asked her, turning it over and trying to see what the problem was.

Rika glared at him. "Damnit Gogglehead, I don't know what you did, but it is supposed to be _just_ blue, with the yellow evolution symbol!"

He frowned at the card, seeing what she meant. "So… red, black and green lines on it are a bad thing?"

Catsuramon- the so-called 'elected' head Deva at the moment- stepped forward and approached the two, eyeing the card.

"I don't know what you did, human, but more than just the digi-gnomes were attracted to that card."

"So can I use it or not?" Kiken asked, exasperated. Guilmon was heading back towards the food, and if they didn't do this _now_….

Catsuramon shrugged, as did every other Deva around. "If you want to. We won't be responsible for anything that happens, though."

Kiken shrugged. "I can live with that."

He took a few steps away from the others, calling Guilmon over to him again. "We're going to try this one more time, okay boy?"

Guilmon nodded, smiling. "Okie dokie, Kikenmon!"

Kiken nodded back, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Concentrating solely on the card and focusing all his energy into it, he felt the same sensation as he had earlier. Something triggered inside him- and he knew exactly what to do.

He brought the card down towards the golden D-Arc, but he made sure to press a certain button just before the two met. _"Digi-modify! Matrix digivolution, Activate!"_

It really was an odd feeling, he thought to himself. All his energy was being drained out of his body and being channelled into Guilmon, letting the rookie evolve straight to ultimate. And yet, there was another energy pattern, coming from both Guilmon and the Level and Quadrant around him, flowing into him and supporting him.

**Matrix Digivolution**

**Guilmon digivolve to… Growlmon!**

**Growlmon matrix digivolve to… WarGrowlmon!**

When the energy flow stopped, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at his partner. Kiken couldn't hold in a laugh, running forward to attempt to hug the large, metal casings around the legs of WarGrowlmon. The huge ultimate reached one clawed hand down to lift Kiken up to his shoulders.

It wasn't until he looked down again to see how small everyone else was (and they were, in fact, quite small from his vantage point over 5 stories above the ground) that he noticed their worried, surprised faces.

"You guys! What's wrong? Guilmon evolved, didn't he? Oh!" WarGrowlmon had lept over everyone's head towards the food pile, which he then began to devour. "Right… wish, swipe, heavily feed. Gotcha."

Rika and Renamon appeared beside him on the large shoulder pad, Renamon wincing at the robo-dragon's appetite- and manners.

Rika glared at him. "What did you _do_, Gogglehead?!"

Kiken blinked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Look at what you're wearing!"

Kiken took a glance at himself, and had to fight to keep from laughing. Blood red armour with gold and silver trim, a mix between Rika's and the suits of armour of the knights of old, covered his body. A larger, black-red-gold-white piece of armour around his right arm and a small, black screen showed where his D-Arc had disappeared to. The same bulge with mimicking designs was on his left forearm and around his thighs. Black, fingerless gloves with red, metal padding on the knuckles continued where his armour left off, and the black pants which led into red-white-black leather boots and high collar of the black-trimmed red shirt poked through the armour as well.

He rubbed the back of his head, giving in to laughing at himself for not noticing. "Sort of space-age, isn't it?"

"GOGGLEHEAD, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

He had- surprisingly- no problem leaping down from WarGrowlmon's shoulder, but neither did Rika. He made a bee-line for the Devas, hoping to put at least Catsuramon and maybe Sandiramon and Mihiramon between him and her, but they merely moved out of the way, watching WarGrowlmon as he ate.

Cursing them, he rounded to take Rika head-on, but she merely jumped over his head as he was turned and struck him with her feet while still in the air from behind.

He knew he should have felt some kind of pain (he always after that attack, no matter how she did it). He didn't feel anything- it was like a light breeze had pressed against that part of his back, but that was it.

Kiken frowned, turning around to talk to Rika, ask her what happened. She was also staring at him, surprised. As were the Devas, as was WarGrowlmon- who, as he had now finished devouring his food and there was no reason for him to keep that form, de-evolved to Guilmon and walked over to Kiken, leaning against his tamer.

"Can we go back now, Kikenmon? Guilmon is tired…." As if to prove his point, the draconic rookie let more of his weight fall onto Kiken, nearly making the human fall over.

"Guilmon! Come on- you can fall asleep back at the citadel!" He began half-dragging, half-walking Guilmon back, Rika and Renamon shrugging and following.

The Devas exchanged glances, following sedately behind the tamer-pairs. They seemed to be the only ones who noticed that Kiken's new wardrobe hadn't disappeared with the de-evolution. However, they didn't push matters-

They all knew that, should the creator and holder of the Digital Hazard be pushed far enough, a lot of bad things could happen.

* * *

Zhuqiaomon himself was not, in fact, deleted. Nor was he near being deleted. He shifted his wings, glaring at the odd sight before him. 

He felt Azulongmon approach from the East, and turned to great the other Sovereign. "Brother, what took you?"

Azulongmon settled down beside him, dropping his head onto the ground. "It has been tiring keeping everything under wraps. The Southern Quadrant is in desperate need of your guidance, Brother."

Zhuqiaomon snorted. "My Devas have not been doing their job?"

"It is not the Devas, brother. Something has upset that balance that you established with D-Reaper. The Chaos itself is not emerging, but there is another power that is fighting against the bonds of the Quadrants."

Zhuqioamon ruffled his feathers, glaring at the dragon Sovereign. "Is there nothing evil that comes from _your_ Quadrant?"

"I take good care of my Quadrant and its protectors, thank you."

"And I do not?" Zhuqiaomon was affronted.

"Based on the fact that you lost your Tamers leader, no, I would say you don't."

Zhuqiaomon shifted his body weight so as to allow him to attack Azulongmon should the need arise. Azulongmon chuckled, nodding towards the light show behind the raven. "However, you seem to be able to take excellent care of this… _thing_."

Both Sovereigns turned their attention to the large orb before them. "Think you this might have something to do with whatever is going on in my Quadrant?"

"I believe so. Maybe it's some kind of key?"

Zhuqiaomon frowned again, hissing when he felt the tell-tale energy pulse. "Did you-"

"Yes. What has been going on?"

Zhuqioamon growled, taking flight. "I will find out immediately. How _dare_ he use the Hazard without knowing anything about it!"

Azulongmon watched his 'Brother' fly off towards the Southern Quadrant, himself frowning as he turned to the orb. Another energy spike, again seeming of the Hazard, and Azulongmon was tempted to take off for his own Quadrant. There was no telling what the Hazard might do….

* * *

**Notes**

**(1)** Heh… yes, this is true. It worked with me… ish. When I was younger. Apparently my mom took me to 'moms and tots' at the local swimming pool- a 'learn to swim' for us poor midgets. And although I was a terror even to the poolside, I was always a lot more obedient in water. So the instructor told my mom to take me home and once a day sit me in the bathtub or in front of the sink and fill them with water and let me play. Apparently it worked. -- I dunno….

**(2)** Yes, I like Otamamon. They are just so… cute! To be truthful, they're some of the only digimon I remember from way back when, and I don't really feel like wracking my brain, trying to remember other water-types that might fit in. Gekomon and Gomamon are the only two others that I really remember that are water-rookies, otherwise I would have stuck Sumarimon in there- but he's armour, so there goes that idea.

So, please, feed the author(ess)? She is very hungry-full right now, and is going to post chapter 14 in the next week or so, and would very much like something to sustain her while she writes the other chapters...? Pretty please?


	14. Exile

_**Running**_

**Chapter 14:** Exile

**Disclaimer:** I don't own digimon. I want to own digimon. I want another season. I want to actually _see_ Savers (…? 'Like' the name….) and the other one with Tai in it (apparently). Of course, I would also like to know what these things are about besides the usual 'Save the World' shpveel….

* * *

Zhuqiaomon's return to the Southern Quadrant was considered 'timely' at best. Everyone was _so_ happy to see the outline of the great phoenix-raven sovereign in the sky, silhouetted by the world-sphere. There was cheering, general happiness, and celebrating ("Sovereign Zhuqiaomon isn't dead!" was one of the most-heard phrases). 

Zhuqiaomon landed before the group who had just returned from training Kiken in the skills of a matrix evolution. The happy feeling quickly died down when they saw the look in the sovereign's eyes.

"_Kiken… I will speak to you immediately. Alone._"

The voice sent chills down his spine, and Kiken wondered just what he had done that was so wrong.

"I- I…"

"_Kiken_…."

Kiken bowed his head, giving in. "Yes, Sovereign."

Zhuqiaomon turned and stalked back into the large, central hall, blasting everyone within it into the corridors and slamming the doors shut with a flick of his wings. Kiken stood silently by the doors, not wanting to get any closer to the angered sovereign lest said sovereign lash out at him.

"Kiken. Come closer."

Well, _that_ idea was shot to hell.

When Kiken was suitably close, Zhuqiaomon finally took a _good_ look at him, twitching wings and head as he observed.

"What are you wearing?"

The Tamer shifted on his feet, not lifting his head to meet Zhuqiaomon's eyes as he spoke. "I'm not sure. When Guilmon matrix digivolved-"

"You forced him to digivolve?" Zhuqiaomon cut him off, already turning to get Rika and destroy her.

Kiken heard the movement and threw his head up to confirm his suspicions. He felt panic rising in him, knew that Rika was in charge of the card portion of his training, that she would be held responsible for whatever he had done-

"No! No, I didn't. It's just- there were no digi-gnomes around, so I had to… improvise?" At Zhuqiaomon's look, he hurried on with his explanation. "I- Rika told me that I had to choose a card- whichever one felt right- and wish for the strength to matrix evolve for whatever reason I thought would work. I asked for the strength to help defend the Quadrant, and- and there was this _sucking_ force, pulling my energy to the card- and then Rika told me to stop, the card wasn't supposed to look like that, but I-"

"Wasn't supposed to look like _what_?" Zhuqiaomon cut in again, eying the card pouch.

"I- it was supposed to be blue with some yellow, not blue with yellow, red, black and green…."

"Hm… continue."

Kiken nodded, lowering his eyes again. "Well- we discussed whether to use it or not, and Catsuramon mentioned something about more than digi-gnomes being attracted to the card, like a warning. But I- I wanted to see Guilmon's ultimate form, know that I hadn't become just a third-rate Tamer, useless except for pep-talks and some card swiping. So I used it, against Rika and the Deva's better judgment.

"Guilmon matrix evolved no problem, but then I was wearing this armour… no one seemed to know how it got there, but everyone- especially Rika- was angry about it. Rika went after me, tried to bring me down- but her attacks just sort of… glanced off the armour, like they were a breeze.

"Then WarGrowlmon de-digivolved, and wanted to come back here to sleep and- oh, I left him out there!"

Kiken turned around to go fetch his partner, but was stopped by Zhuqiaomon's outspread wings. "Kiken."

"Ye-yes, Zhuqiaomon?"

The phoenix-raven eyed him for another long moment, then lowered his head so that Kiken didn't have to crane his neck to look at the face (or, more accurately, beak) of the Sovereign.

"If you _ever_ feel that power again, you are _never_ to use it. Focus on calling one of the digi-gnomes to you instead- apparently they like you. But _don't ever use that power._ Understand me?"

Kiken nodded, forcing the shivers to stay away from his spine. When Zhuqiaomon lifted his wings and opened the doors, Kiken made a break for Guilmon, Rika, Renamon, and outside.

* * *

It was two days later, and though the armour still hadn't disappeared, Kiken and Rika had been able to figure out how to remove it by the night of that day. Unsurprisingly, a mannequin had appeared in Kiken's room, ready to be donned in the armour until he had need of it again. 

To their surprise, the armour was in two parts. The chest plate, shoulder plates, and the two pieces of metal that hung off the leather belt and covered his hips, thighs and down to his knees were separate from the rest of the ensemble. The black shirt and pants, gloves, boots, belt and guards for his arm and legs could be worn separately.

The only thing about the armour that changed was, when it was removed, the D-Arc separated itself from his right arm guard, settling back in Kiken's hands.

The material that the clothing layer of the armour was made of was extremely similar to Rika's, and she found herself trying to track down a digi-gnome to 'fix' the skin-tight armour she detested. She had never been big on fashion, but this was one time that she _did_ care what she looked like.

Kiken had taken to wearing the clothing from the armour around. Regardless of how it looked, it kept him cool when he was hot, warm when he was cold, and was just that bit more stylish than whatever else was in his wardrobe.

The next day he had been dragged out to the open area outside the citadel again, and told to get Guilmon to matrix evolve without the use of weird-coloured cards. It had been a struggle at first, but fairly quickly he got the hang of calling a digi-gnome with his mind to aid in the evolution. Upon getting the hang of that, he was then asked to teach Rika how to do the same. Within the hour, digi-gnomes could be seen flying through the air around the two, intensely glad to have not only a purpose to fulfill, but a place to be.

Kiken smiled as one of said digi-gnomes snuggled into his neck as it sat on his shoulder, the faint spark of electricity easily masked by the illusion of softness and warmth which emanated from the glowing entities. Rika rolled her eyes, but had to laugh as Kiken was knocked over by a swarm of the wish-granters. There usually was at least one of the sprites around each of them now, but, on occasion….

"Aw, did the poor Gogglehead get knocked over by the mean sprites?" Rika taunted the other Tamer, smiling good-naturedly at the one who had taken up residence on her shoulder.

The gnome-swarm was still for a moment around Kiken, before they hurtled themselves at Rika. Unprepared, she didn't have time to duck, and subsequently was knocked down next to Kiken. She noticed that now _he_ was laughing at _her_- which was completely unacceptable.

"Gogglehead…."

Kiken rolled onto his side facing her, lifting his hands up to put some sort of barrier between while trying to signify that it wasn't his fault. Just to make sure, he repeated it aloud.

"You know I don't entirely believe you, but attacking you without proof might not go over well…." Rika let it hang, struggling to stand up without knocking too many of the digi-gnomes off their perches.

Kiken jumped to his feet, free of such considerations as the gnomes had gone to focus their attention on Rika. He lowered his hand, helping her up as he caught some of the displaced gnomes ("Rika's stomach is not a good place to take a nap," he lectured them).

Renamon sat a little ways away, smiling as the two were forced to run from the swarm that had decided to rest- on them. Guilmon joined her, laying on his back and his head, however awkwardly, angled to let him catch a glimpse of his Tamer's plight.

"Renamon, should we be helping Kikenmon and Rikamon?"

The kitsune looked down at her draconic friend, pondering his question for a moment. Instead of answering, she reached over and grabbed a large piece of bread and stuffed it into the other's mouth. Finally, she turned back to the two, and, smiling again, muttered, "Let them have their fun."

* * *

Zhuqiaomon paced the room restlessly, waiting on his servants. It was the middle of the night, and he knew that they could refuse his call if they so wished, having spent the last three days dealing with rogue digimon that Rika and Kiken had insisted they deal with. He still wasn't convinced that by preventing the random fights and deletions that were so common in his quadrant they could help prevent any sort of reappearance of the D-Reaper, but he was, frankly, willing to try anything. 

The Hazard, after all, typically responded to D-Reaper and vice versa, and Kiken had the annoying habit of taping into the unknown's power at the worst times….

The doors opened and in walked all his Devas, escorting the young human female.

"Hey, birdbrain. Any reason these guys woke me up, or was it just to piss me off?" Rika asked, not caring at the moment about insulting anyone. It wasn't often she found herself in a calming, deep sleep.

Zhuqiaomon spared her but a glance, turning to his Devas. "Is it everything ready?"

"Yes, Lord Zhuqiaomon," all twelve intoned. Rika was surprised to see the sadness in Antylamon's eyes, but ignored it, believing it to just be her sleepy eyes playing tricks on her.

"Well? I'm waiting, Zhuqiamon!"

The raven finally turned to her, levelling his head with her own. "Takato is able to perform a Matrix Evolution, correct?"

Rika nodded, suddenly distrusting the sovereign even more than she did previously.

"And so it will only be a matter of time for him to biomerge, correct?"

"Yes…."

"And he has learned how to use those cards?"

Rika blinked at him, nodding again. Now it wasn't just distrust- it was extreme worry.

"Good. Then, your presence here will no longer be required. We have established a Gate back to your world, through which you will return immediately, with Antylamon as guide. If you have not left the digital world by sun-up, I will send all the Devas after you, and there will be no mercy. Do I make myself clear?"

Rika gapped up at the sovereign, surprise written all over her face. It was, of course, quickly replaced by shock, hurt, and- most prominently- anger.

"The hell, Zhuqiamon! He's still not ready for- you can't really expect him to be-"

"I can expect whatever I want from my servants. You should be grateful, human- as long as you keep her secret from _everyone_, I am letting you take your _partner_ back with you. Now, Antylamon, escort her to her room to pack and then all the way to the Gate. For your sakes, make it fast- we wouldn't want any bloodshed, would we?"

Antylamon bowed her head, turning to Rika and grabbing the teen by the arm.

"Anty-"

"Please, Rika," Antylamon cut her off, "come with me."

Swallowing the numerous things she wanted to say to the sovereign, most of which would be fairly rude and extremely inappropriate, Rika turned sharply, wrenching her arm out of the Deva's grasp. She stalked out of the room and down the numerous corridors that she had grown accustomed to roaming over the last few months.

Antylamon was quick to catch up with her, and began whispering to her quietly. "Please, Rika, know that we- yes, all of us- argued against Zhuqiaomon. We know that he's not anywhere near ready to take up the mantle of 'Tamer' again, but Zhuqiaomon says that as you learned by chance and experience, that's the best way for him, too.

"Besides…" and here she paused, both of them quieting their steps as they passed the door to the other's room where he and Guilmon no doubt continued to sleep. Once they were past it, Antylamon didn't continue her sentence until they were safely within Rika's room and the door firmly closed.

"Besides, rumour got to Zhuqiaomon about your relationship with him. He believes- and may be right- that as long as Kiken strives to remember more about _you_, he'll spend less time thinking about Guilmon, which would dramatically lessen his chances of ever biomerging. I'm not saying that what he is doing is right, but please know that this isn't… isn't just because you're human."

Rika, who had been silent the entire time, rounded on the Deva. "Oh? Well, that makes everything _much_ better, that he hates me for being me and not for being _human_."

She began ripping her clothes off the hangers and throwing them carelessly into a bag, Antylamon and Renamon (who had appeared sometime during Antylamon's explanation) watching and wishing that they could do something to change what was happening. Rika no longer cared about being quiet- if she was being kicked out, she'd prefer to at least say goodbye to her friend, partner and (though she still refused to admit it to herself) love interest.

Wait… "Why is he making me leave in the middle of night, Antylamon?"

"Well… I believe that Zhuqiaomon might come up with a story about you leaving on some kind of mission and then falling in battle. He'll want to keep Kiken on his side, and if the Knight knows that Master Zhuqiaomon kicked you out…."

"Kiken won't be Zhuqiaomon's little pet anymore." Rika finished, glaring at the wall that divided her bedroom from Kiken's. She considered ordering Renamon to tear it down, but Zhuqiaomon's warning suddenly echoed in her mind. No doubt he wouldn't give her the chance to even get to the Gate before sending the Devas after her if she did that.

"Antylamon?"

The rabbit Deva looked at Rika almost nervously, not sure if she should be worried or relieved about the sudden calmness. "Yes, Rika?"

"Why is Zhuqiaomon sending you? And what will happen to you if we don't get the Gate in time?"

Antylamon didn't have an answer to that, though all three in the room knew, if subconsciously, what the answer was. To Zhuqiaomon, she had betrayed him once and was liable to do so again. Should he need to send the other Devas, it was- to him- better for a possible traitor to be caught in the cross-fire than one of this own loyal ones.

Rika finished packing in silence, throwing the bag over her shoulder and carefully not looking down the darkened hallway as they began walking towards the entrance to the citadel. Renamon had gone on ahead of them to inform the guards that they were leaving.

If either Rika or Antylamon had bothered to look, they might have been surprised to see a red head poking around the corner of a partially-opened door, or the quiet, saddened noise that Guilmon made as he watched them walk away.

* * *

The three of them stood before the Gate, watching the slowly fluctuating colors which indicated a stable portal. A digi-gnome flew over to settle on Rika's shoulder, cooing to her as it sensed her distress. Rika patted it on the head absent-mindedly, taking one last look around at the place that had become a second home to her. 

The Gate was located, appropriately, in the Desert level, atop one of the rock pillars that dotted the landscape. It was still dark, but Rika knew that, within minutes, the Earth-Sphere would cease being the moon and become the sun, and that she had better leave now, instead of the risking the sovereign's wrath.

Yet, she couldn't bring herself to step through the Gate. She knew she was putting all their lives at risk, but, somehow, that next step seemed to be so… final. She knew that it wasn't too far from here that she had first arrived in the digital world for the second time, and that Takato had probably landed in the same area as well.

On the way here, Rika had begun wondering what her family was doing- how they were doing, how they were coping with her prolonged absence, what they would do when she returned. She found herself missing her grandmother, her mother, even the other Tamers and those few friends she had at school. She actually wanted to some degree to go back- but, she was startled to realize, she wanted to come back.

She had grown up here, in the world of the sovereigns, the world where Takato died and Kiken was born. Where Renamon, Guilmon, and the other digimon, for that matter, were born. _This_ world was her home now, too- more so than the 'real' one.

'Home is where the heart is,' as they saying went. Rika thought about it then, standing there before the Gate, and knew, without question that her home- where she belonged right now, where she was needed at that moment- was the very place she was about to leave.

"Antylamon… I can't. I can't go back- I'm need here, I have to stay-"

"Rika," and this time it was Renamon who spoke, "We may be able to return again soon. Zhuqiaomon specified that we must be gone by sunrise. He never said we had to stay away."

"Though he implied it," Rika muttered, hating herself for even considering leaving- and then hating herself for hating herself, as she still had family on the other side, too.

Antylamon looked between the two of them, then back at the sky. She frowned as she watched the Earth-Sphere, noticing the tell-tale differences that indicated morning was approaching, and soon. "If you are to leave, you should do so soon."

Rika and Renamon shared a look and, making up her mind, Rika turned to begin walking away from the Gate. A suddenly explosion before her, however, threw her backwards, into both Renamon and Antylamon, knocking them, the digi-gnome still on her shoulder, and herself, into the portal.

"Drat… he's not going to be happy," a mature, unfamiliar male voice commented as Rika felt her conscious leaving her, Renamon and Antylamon forced back to their in-training and rookie forms respectively. They and the gnome quickly curled up around Rika's arms and neck.

"Ah well… we should leave before those Devas come to make sure they've left," commented another voice, this one female.

"We must report to the master. Come- they will not bother us any longer."

And then there was darkness, a cold, biting darkness that Rika had never experienced before and caused her to nearly convince herself that something had gone wrong. To her relief, it was followed a sudden heat that wrapped around her, protecting her and her three passengers like a lover's arms. It was then that Rika let herself be brought into unconsciousness, enjoying the ride.

* * *

Kiken had awoken at the normal time, a few minutes before sunrise. He mused that something felt different that day, but decided not to dwell on it. 

"Good morning, Guilmon!"

He had expected a response. Getting nothing, he sat up and looked around the room, surprised to find that his partner was notably absent.

"Guilmon? Come on, boy- let's not play hide-and-go-seek so early, alright?"

Still the silence permeated the room, and Kiken began to worry. He began checking around the room, under the bed and chairs, in the closet, in the bathroom, even out the windows.

"Aw, Guilmon. Where are you?"

Deciding it would be better to see if Rika or Renamon could tell him where his draconic partner had disappeared to (or if they could help him find him), he headed down the hall, ignoring the fact that he was still in his pyjamas which consisted of nothing more than a pair of shorts.

In fact, he had purposefully done so, looking forward to the look on Rika's face when she saw him. He opened the doors to her room, smiling a thousand-watt smile even though it was still dark.

"Rika, Rena- Guilmon?"

Guilmon was laying on Rika's bed, and to his surprise, there was evidence the red dragon-lizard had been crying. _Is that even possible? I should ask Rika..._

"Guilmon? Hey, buddy, you okay?" Kiken sat down beside the other, resting his hand on the back of Guilmon's neck.

Guilmon let out a howl, burying his head in the side of Kiken's leg. Bewildered, Kiken gathered his partner into a tight hug, trying to reassure the other. "What's wrong?"

"Antylamon, Renamon and Rikamon left when it was really, really dark, Kikenmon. Something feels weird, and bad, and I'm scared, Kikenmon."

The trembling in the usually happy digimon's voice provided serious cause for concern, and Kiken immediately called for the digi-gnomes to see if they knew anything.

Of the many that came, only a few could answer anything that was helpful, which only consisted of something big the Devas and Zhuqiaomon had been working on in the Desert Level and two big, mean digimon near Rika, Renamon and Antylamon.

Now, Kiken was no idiot, and was immediately worried- there were many possibilities those little bits of information brought to mind, and none of them were all that pleasant. And, although he had been told by Zhuqiaomon to ignore that power that he knew was within him and Guilmon, Rika and all of the Devas had told him that in extreme situations and, as long as he only used a very, _very_ small amount, it should be okay to tap into it.

Asking the gnomes to help him, he used this power- the Hazard, as everyone called it- to search out whatever had the gnomes so worked up about the Desert Level. He was surprised to find he could 'see' what the gnomes did, and fairly clearly, should he close his eyes.

He wasn't sure at first, but when the gnomes helped him amplify the signature, he recognised Rika, Renamon, Antylamon and one of the gnomes in a place that he knew would be near impossible to get to now. He felt a kind of fear run through Rika, and, although surprised, tried to reach out to give her some form of comfort.

Apparently it worked, as she relaxed and then-

Before him stood eleven of the twelve Devas, Antylamon being the missing member. Behind them- or, before them, as they were facing away from the gnome that he was looking through, was Zhuqiaomon, glaring at a large, colourful entity. _A Gate to the human world_, the gnomes supplied for him, and Kiken felt his mouth going dry.

Before his eyes, Zhuqiaomon roared in frustration, taking to the skies and throwing huge amounts of fire at the portal. To his ire, the portal began closing, fast enough that by the time they reached it, it had disappeared and the only thing the fire had left to burn was the desert sands and the Devas.

He felt the gnomes drawing away from the scene, and withdrew the tendril of power through which he had been observing. He felt woosey, unstable. He fell onto his back, Guilmon laying back with him.

"Kikenmon?"

"Hm?"

"Are Renamon, Rikamon, and Antylamon safe?"

Kiken let a small smile on his face. Although he wasn't sure about where they were or why they were going there, he was sure about this. He had made it so. "Yes, Guilmon. They're safe, though I'm not sure when they're coming back. Zhuqiaomon didn't look too happy about something, though."

"Did you think Zhuqiaomon wanted them to leave?"

Kiken blinked, thinking back on what he had 'seen'. "Well… no. Actually, I think he was unhappy _because_ they had left."

That confused Guilmon (especially after what he had seen last night) but Kiken probably knew better, anyways.

"So… what should we do until they get back?" Kiken asked the air after a few minutes of silence, beginning to hear the tell-tale signs of life stirring within the citadel.

Guilmon looked thoughtful, then sat up and smiled. "Guilmon bread, Guilmon bread! It's a loaf shaped like my head…."

Kiken laughed and sent Guilmon to raid what had become the kitchens and prepare everything to make the bread as he went back to his rooms to change.

The moment he door closed he let his face fall, sinking to his knees. He didn't want to mention it to his partner, but something had felt wrong about what he had seen. Why was Zhuqiaomon so angry? Hadn't he sent them wherever they were going? Maybe something had gone wrong, or perhaps….

The fact that what Zhuqiaomon had been angry at was a portal to the human world scared Kiken. He recognized now that Rika, Renamon, Antylamon and gnome had been in one such portal, and that was why it had been so hard to get any sort of lock on their signatures. He desperately wanted to know what was going on, but knew it wasn't his place to ask.

Instead, he tried to shake the feeling that something very, very bad had just happened…. However, he wasn't able to and realized that he wanted Rika by his side whenever the relapse occurred.

He also realized that he was, out of everyone in the citadel, probably the weakest link and most likely to be the first to fall. Her absence unnerved him- he didn't usually feel so weak with Rika around, challenging him and supporting him. So he swore to himself, then and there, that if Rika wasn't back within one month he would do something. What, he wasn't sure- but, he reasoned with himself, the two- no, four- of them should be back long before then.

Standing (and wiping away the stray tear that had made its way down his cheek) he put a smile on his face and went in search of clothes. While she was away, he would train hard and make her proud.

This, he swore out loud, would be the first day of a new stage in his life.

* * *

"Rika… Rika… wake up!" 

"I'm up already!"

Rika was surprised to find herself back inside Guilmon's shed, the light in the hole from the portal back to the digital world glimmering by her feet. Lopmon and the digi-gnome sat on either side of her head while Viximon sat on her stomach.

Groaning, she sat up all the way as Viximon jumped off her stomach and onto the ground beside the gnome. "Ugh… we're back? What happened…?"

Lopmon looked up at her, a frown on her face. "I do not know, though I believe we were attacked. Not by the Devas, but by someone else, someone with great power."

Rika made a face, looking around for her bag. "Why doesn't it surprise me that there's some new, great evil around?" She found it above her head and began riffling through it, pulling out some normal clothes so she could change out of the bodysuit she was wearing. You never knew what you could find in the Desert Level, after all- or what could find you.

"Coo?" the digi-gnome commented, looking around at the world it had found itself in.

"Just stay with us, little guy, and you'll be fine," Rika told it, quickly changing. The air was cool- it was obviously just barely morning here as well. She slipped a sweater out of her bag and put it on, tucking the gnome inside the jacket (as it was the smallest and warmest) and motioned for Viximon and Lopmon to get into her bag.

"Oh! Is that a new game? Can I play?"

Rika froze, turning to find a familiar white head poking out of the hole down to the portal. "Calumon?"

Calumon jumped up, landing between Lopmon and Viximon and shrinking his ears to fit. "Yuppers! When those other digimon left I wanted to play with you, so here I am!"

Rika groaned, but let Calumon stay in the bag as she zipped it up, knowing that Viximon and Lopmon would keep the little one quiet. She had thought that hiding Viximon would be hard enough, but now she had Lopmon, Calumon and the digi-gnome to deal with.

She would have sent them back through the portal, but as Yamaki had pointed out all those months ago, it had been corrupted by the Hazard and only certain people, herself and Viximon among them, were able to use it.

Rika quickly made her way through the quickly growing number of pedestrians on the street, aiming for home the entire way. The quickest path had the unfortunate side effect of passing directly past what was left of the Matsuda bakery, but Rika had a way around that- she made sure to walk on the other side of the street in the middle of a thick crowd, so that she could not see the ruins.

And she knew they were still ruins, too- Yamaki and Hypnos would have asked the city council to leave them, as a real testament to the horrors of that attack, and the lives lost during it.

When she reached home, she was surprised to find that no one was there. Her mom, she could understand. Rumiko, being a famous model, was forced to travel all over the world. It was strange for her grandmother to be out, but Rika just assumed that the elder woman had some sort of group meeting or council to go to.

It wasn't like they were expecting her home that day.

"Okay, guys. The coast is clear."

The digi-gnome immediately left her jacket, Lopmon, Calumon and Viximon leaping out of her bag the moment the zipper was even a fraction of the way down.

Rika shook her head, heading into her room to unpack while the four digital beings began exploring her yard. Once done, she joined them; looking for what had changed and what had stayed the same, wanting to find something to help her get her bearings.

There was a note on the kitchen table, which Rika picked up, wondering who it was for.

_Rika,_

_I know that this might just be a futile wish, but if you get home and find this note, could you please call me at the number at the bottom of the page? A lot has happened in the last few months and I miss you so much. This is the first job I've taken since you've left, you see, and I was hoping that you would be back sooner. It's in China, so I won't be back for a week starting on the Monday. Well, if luck should have it that you do return while I'm away, I want you to know I… that WE… both missed you, and WE both love you._

_Mom_

Rika found an eyebrow rising at the plurality of the final line, but then assumed that Rumiko had been referring to her grandmother. Though that didn't explain why the note had changed like that, near the end, going from "I" to "WE". The stress on the word was strange, too, but she didn't let it bother her.

There was, indeed, a hastily-scrawled number at the bottom and Rika was tempted to call it, until she checked the time. Whatever else her mother was, a morning person she was not, especially not before 6.

_Just like Ta- Kiken…._

Being back in her own world made Rika revert to calling him 'Takato', expecting the bumbling Goggleheaded boy to show up suddenly and just hang around, driving her insane even while she enjoyed his company. That made her think that Kiken was exactly the same, whatever the differences might have been… and that, in turn, made her realize for the first time what she had given up.

About to leave the digital world she realized that that was her home, not here. But now she saw everything that much clearer. She hadn't just given up her home- she had given up possibly her only chance of ever seeing or being with Kiken… of being with Takato.

_That and my mission was to bring him back…._

Calumon leaped onto her head, Viximon and the gnome taking up positions on her shoulders and Lopmon sat on the table in front of her, reading over the note.

"Rika? Are you alright?"

The sound of Calumon's voice was just one more reminder, as was the presence of the beings on her shoulders and table. She was near her breaking point, she knew- and then cast away all those thoughts.

As Renamon had pointed out, Zhuqiaomon had never banned her, banned them, from returning one day. And, as much as she hated to admit it, his reasoning did make some semblance of sense.

"So," she said aloud, reasoning with herself and those around her, "I'll catch up with everything here, get my bearings and settle everything. Then I'll… then we will _all_ go back. Of course, we have to wait long enough so as to give some time for Zhuqiaomon's plan regarding Kiken to fail, so we should wait for at least two or three weeks. And it will probably take that long to get everything settled over here, anyways…."

Lopmon looked at her worriedly, though the other three made no comment. "What to do mean by 'settled', Rika?"

Rika smiled down at the grey bunny-like digimon, acting very un-Rika-ish. "Well, Lopmon, I realized that I feel more at home in the digital world, and am therefore going to return and preferably _stay_ for a while next time." And here Rika returned to the strong, defiant personality that all were used to. "Besides, I need to give Kiken his daily beatings, don't I?"

Lopmon sweatdropped, though she found no real fault with Rika's plan. Viximon was more or less of the same mind as Rika, and Calumon and the digi-gnome didn't really care what happened, as long as it was interesting and fun and they could somehow help.

And so it came to be that the four digital beings were left the run of the house unless they heard, sensed or saw someone at the door, at which point they were to hide. Rika, meanwhile, decided to head out to Hypnos, check in, and see what had been happening in the few months she had been MIA.

The receptionist was surprised to see her, though perhaps 'surprise' wasn't the right word. It was a new receptionist, one that Rika had never seen before and one that apparently had never seen Rika before.

"I'm sorry, _'ma'am'_, but you aren't allowed any further without either an appointment or someone from the higher levels accompanying you. Even if you were one of those _children_ I wouldn't be authorized to allow you to enter."

By the way that she had said children, Rika was pretty sure that the receptionist had no idea who the Tamers were, but that was all well and good. It made it easier for Rika to dislike the woman- and therefore not hold back in ranting to her.

Which, of course, Rika did. One good, long rant about how much she hated the current government establishment, how she hated Hypnos, hated school, hated this entire world and most of the people in it, and how she currently hated her life. This was then continued into a rant about how Rika hated impertinent, uptight people who looked down on anyone who was not apparently of their 'class' or did not meet their expectations. A second rant about how Rika couldn't wait to get out of there, but had to get _in_ there before she could get _out_, was just beginning when the elevator _dinged_ open, letting a number of people exit.

"Nonaka?"

Rika blinked, having not noticed the elevator opening, and turned around to come face-to-face with Yamaki, Riley, Talley, and the entire group of Monster Makers.

She let a smirk turn the corners of her mouth up and raised her hand, eyes glinting dangerously. "Yo, boss-sir."

Riley raised an eyebrow while the others made similar motions of amused confusion. Yamaki turned to the receptionist, who began cowering with fear under his gaze far worse than Rika had made her with her screaming.

"Yuzamua, meet Rika Nonaka-Makino. Nonaka, meet Anateri Yuzamua, our current secretary-receptionist."

Rika looked over her shoulder at the secretary, wondering why she was cowering. It was just Yamaki, after all.

Her unasked question was answered the next second as Yamaki began to _loom_ over the woman, obviously terrifying her. "Nonaka has top-level security clearance, Yuzamua, and has been working here for far longer than you. You are to give her your full cooperation and respect. If not, I'm sure that Governor Itamaki would be interested to hear about your current job, would he not?"

Yamaki paused, then deciding to continue berating the secretary. Somehow, Rika couldn't find the will to feel sorry for the woman, and saw on the faces of the Monster Makers and Hypnos Techs behind her that they shared her opinion.

"Riley, why are you all down here?"

Riley turned to her, frowning. "Well…." She beckoned Rika closer, lowering her voice. "We detected two bio-emergences near the portal by Guilmon's shed earlier. We can safely assume that one was you, but we can't be sure about the other."

Rika raised an eyebrow. "If it's any consolation, I didn't see any fog, explosions, or strange digital creatures that usually accompany a bio-emergence, and I hung around there for a while after I got back."

"Speaking of that, Nonaka," Yamaki interrupted, walking over to them and ignoring the nearly-in-tears secretary behind the desk. "I want to discuss what's been happening recently with you. We'll be up soon, we just have to check out something."

"Actually, sir, if what Rika says it true then we might not need to go anywhere," Talley put in, looking up at her boss.

Yamaki turned to Rika, a questioning look on his face. Rika tilted her head a bit, acknowledging Talley's comment. Yamaki nodded, leading the group back over to the elevators.

They stopped at the tenth floor, which surprised Rika. Instead of finding some sort of meeting rooms, the entire floor was a single, huge room with different dividers, half-walls and pillars littered throughout. "It's a security checkpoint," Riley explained, being the only one to get off with Rika. "We need to get you officially listed as having clearance, and authority, otherwise Yuzamua can make your life a living hell."

"Why did you hire her, anyways?" Rika wondered aloud, allowing herself to be steered over to the first 'station'.

Riley snorted. "We didn't. After everything that's been going on, the City Council and its Governors 'asked' us to have someone reliable positioned somewhere in Hypnos."

"Reliable meaning a spy for them, asked meaning forced or…?"

"Or no more cuts from the budget, however small they may be."

"Ouch," Rika mused, glaring at the black ink on her fingers from the fingerprinting. It could hurt, too- Hypnos was the only agency that had any idea what was going on and might support all her future jaunts back to the digital world. Not that she was going to tell them that, of course.

Riley rolled her eyes, sitting down behind a computer and calling up Rika's pre-existing profile, checking everything and making a few changes. "Understatement. So, what was the Southern Quadrant like?"

Rika sat down beside her, rubbing her fingers on her jeans to get the ink off. "Oh, eventful. Of course, now I have the urge to _destroy_ Zhuqiaomon the next time I see him."

"Trouble?"

"Actually, he was fairly good this time. Just decided that I was in the way and decided to kick me out. It's the only reason I'm back this early."

"Early?" The note of disbelief in Riley's voice was a pretty fair indication of most people's opinion, Rika knew, about what she considered 'early'.

Rika had to think about whether to say anything or not to the Tech. Riley was trustworthy- rantworthy, even- but should, could, Rika tell her everything? Making up her mind, Rika simply replied, "There were some… problems."

"Why am I not surprised? Ah, done," Riley stood up, grabbing something from a randomly placed cupboard and sliding it into a scanner. The small, plastic card then found its way into Rika's hands as they began making their way back to the elevators. "So… what kind of problems?"

"Complicated ones."

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Riley sounded disappointed, and Rika resolved to give the main operator of the Hypnos systems a bit more information later.

"Well, you're going to be at the meeting, aren't you?"

Riley nodded, but seemed disappointed. "So, none of _those_ kinds of problems?"

Rika frowned at her. "I might not know what you mean by 'those' kinds of problems, but I… sort-of want to talk to you after the meeting. In private, since I have some questions I would rather others not overhear."

Riley turned to her, smiling her acceptance of the offer down to her young charge. _Rika, you have changed._

The doors _dinged_ open again, and Rika and Riley stepped out, Riley leading the way down the long hallway, past the doors to the monitoring room to the conference room.

As they stepped in, Rika couldn't help but feel that she had just entered a room where no one was to be trusted, and immediately put her guard up. As she and Riley took their seats, Yamaki leant forward, tossing two folders down the table at them.

"Read that later," he instructed Rika, who was about to open hers. "Right now, we just need to know what happened."

Rika nodded, leaning back in her chair, closed her eyes, and began to dredge through the memories.

* * *

**  
**

**Notes**

**1.** No real notes this chapter. To be honest, there might have been for the first couple sections, but since it's been over three months since I last looked at this thing….?

Ah, another chapter done. I had the first bit done quite a while ago, and only started working on the ending recently. Hee hee… I should go take a shower now….

Oh, if you're wondering about what's up in the real world? That's all next chapter (knowing me, that might _be_ next chapter). AND, since I've recently looked over my notes which I, also recently, found, I realized that this might very well be over soon. Of course, I still have all the original plans from Warp Fusion (how long ago was I planning on doing that? Talk about a bad idea….) but really… oy.

Hope you all enjoyed it!

And, as I'm sure you know though I'll still point it out: I'm hungry. Very, very hungry. Hungry enough to have made really weird mistakes in my typing. So, please, PLEASE feed the author(ess).

We lobr you all!


	15. Readapting

_**Running**_

**Chapter 15:** Readapting

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, besides the few OCs (that I'll probably kill off, anyways) and possibly the plot (though even that is up for grabs).

**Warnings:** Nothing I can think of. Possibly some cursing, possibly some violence. We'll see.

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**

"Well, first off. Where's Takato?" Rika's voice, raised in question, however rhetorical it may have been, echoed in the room.

"Yes, Nonaka, that would be a good thing to answer. Considering that _it was your mission to bring him back._" Yamaki did not sound pleased.

Rika made a face at him, deciding to instead speak towards Riley, Talley, Janyuu and Shibumi. "Before you say anything, nothing was my fault. Too much," she added as an afterthought, causing most people in the room to sweatdrop. "Apparently, there was an accident nearly immediately after he arrived there- which means I was one month too late to stop it. No one is entirely sure on the details, but in one way or another, Takato isn't 'Takato' anymore."

"What?" Yamaki nearly growled. Rika lifted an eyebrow as she shot him a glance, returning to her 'private' conversation with the four sitting closest to her.

"He doesn't remember anything that happened before he arrived in the digital world. As far as he knows, he's _always_ lived there. He remembered me, though, and he's starting to remember Guilmon, and the card game. But beyond that…." Rika shrugged.

Yamaki continued to frown at her. "And you didn't even try to bring him back, after how long spent gaining his trust?"

A slight smirk appeared on Rika's previously blank face, and she slowly turned towards Yamaki. "How long? Oh… two minutes. The rest of the time was spent training with him and trying to put a stop to all the senseless deletion happening, especially in the Desert Level. Zhqiaomon and the Devas were fairly hospitable, too."

"…hospitable?" Janyuu repeated, trying to remember everything the Tamers had ever said about the sovereign.

"Oh, yes. Since Ta- Kiken, sorry, doesn't remember anything about this world, has no desire to return here, and probably couldn't function in normal society even if he did, Zhuqiaomon's made him into some sort of apprentice-acolyte person. To be honest, bird-brain wasn't around long enough for me to really have any sort of confrontation with him, and we got along pretty well with the Devas."

Yamaki continued to frown at her. "Are you telling us that you _work_ for the sovereign now?"

Rika rolled her eyes. "Not so dramatic. I work_ed_ for the sovereign. However, he decided that I would be more of a distraction than an aid when it came to re-teaching Gogglehead how to biomerge properly, so here I am."

Riley lifted an eyebrow. "That's what you meant by he kicked you out?"

Rika nodded again, shrugging. "He never said I couldn't come back. I want to spend some time here arranging some things and head back at the end of the month."

Silence permeated the room, the surprise palpable on everyone's face. Dolphin was finally the one to break it, shaking his head. "Well, we can't stop you, that's for sure. And, if what you say is true about trying to keep the battle and fights on that side under control, it might even be better for you to go back there."

Daisy also nodded, looking directly in the gleaming violet at the end of the table. "That's true. With fewer battles, less data is exchanged and there's less of a chance of a wild one getting through whenever that program wears off."

Rika froze. "That program… you don't mean...?"

Janyuu nodded his head, somewhat saddened. "Since the digital world was able to keep D-Reaper under control for so long, we realized that all it really needed was a chance for whatever the lock was to… well, lock, and that should be the end of the problem for a long, long while. We didn't want to tell you kids in case the program didn't wear off for a long time, but…."

Rika couldn't help her glare that she pinned on every single person around the table. "I don't care what the stakes were, did you think it was _fun_ to mess with our lives like that? Our partners are our best friends, _part_ of us! You can't just take that away and then say, 'Oops, sorry, we forgot something…'!"

"You seem to be doing fine without Renamon, Rika," Shibumi pointed out, his gaze level.

Rika didn't even pause to think- she had had this excuse planned since she had made up her mind earlier that morning. "That's because, with or without your help or consent, I plan to go back in the next few weeks, so a tiny bit of separation won't make a lot of difference!"

Daisy nodded her head again. "Actually, I think we will have to support you, Rika." At the girl's (and her colleague's) questioning looks, she continued, "Well, not only will you be helping to postpone, if not completely eliminate, any possible bio-emergences, but you'll be the first to know if D-Reaper is acting up again. Maybe you'll even be able to figure out exactly what this 'lock' is and we might be able to create a program to imitate it, to keep it from this world."

Murmurs of assent came from all around the table, though Yamaki remained silent. Finally, he came to a decision. "Alright. Nonaka, I want a full report written up by the end of today. We'll help you get whatever you need 'settled', as long as your mom agrees to this plan. You will, of course, be expected to continue your schooling."

At the last point, Rika made a face, causing many people to nearly laugh, as outright laughing at Rika was akin to suicide.

Yamaki stood as the Techs and the majority of the Monster Makers headed back to work. He made his way over to her, followed by Riley, Talley, Janyuu, Daisy and Shibumi.

"Rika, in your report, can you include anything weird or abnormal that you might have noticed that would account for the defence mechanism the digital world has?" Daisy asked her, smiling gently.

"Sure," Rika replied nonchalantly, wondering why everyone remaining in the room was crowding around her.

Daisy headed off, dragging Shibumi with her. Janyuu watched them go, nodding to Rika. "Do you mind if I ask you to drop by after you're done here and Henry is home from school? I'm sure that we'd all like to talk to you."

Rika nodded, watching Tao walk off before she turned back to the three Hypnos personnel left. "Well? Any other requests?"

Yamaki took off his sunglasses (Rika had been wondering how he could see anything in the already darkened room with them on). "You'll need a full physical, and an evaluation to see how far you've come in your 'training'."

Rika nodded her head again, this time grinning. "Get me a bo, a sword, nunchuks, a bow and a quiver of arrows a knife and an opponent and I'll show you what I can do."

Talley grinned as she lead the girl to the elevators and off to the mini-hospital that had recently monopolized five of Hypnos' floors.

Riley turned to look at Yamaki, placing her hand on his shoulder as she saw his face. "Yamaki?"

"Something feels off, Riley," he commented, staring at the open doorway where the Tamer and Tech had just been standing. "Shibumi had a point. If Nonaka feels so bad about being separated from her partner, then why is she okay with it now?"

Riley raised an eyebrow. "It might just be because this time she has the promise of going back in a couple week's time. Before, they were essentially saying goodbye forever."

"But not Takato. I'd bet anything he always knew the portal was there, but just never used it."

Riley sighed, stepping away from her boss. "Yamaki, I'm sure if Takato had known there was a portal there from the beginning that he would have told us- or used it _before_ the attack. But I do have to agree with you about Rika. There's something she's not telling us."

Yamaki nodded, turning around and walking further into the room. Riley raised an eyebrow, watching him go, before she decided to head off to the monitoring room. If she wanted some good, quality, women time with Rika she'd need to finish work sooner rather than later.

**

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**

The café around the corner from Hypnos was a small affair, with just a few tables and very little room to move. However, Riley attested that, next to the Matsuda bakery, it had some of the best pastries in the city.

Regardless of the quality of the food, Rika had only agreed to meet there because she was tired and hungry after spending five hours in the glass practice room, showing off all her new skills. The trainers and Techs had been more than impressed, evaluating her strength as nearly equal to that of a higher-level rookie, almost armour digimon- which was fairly impressive, as most humans were lucky to be equal to a lower-level rookie, the norm being that of an in-training.

Rika couldn't help but laugh when she heard the statistics, picturing all her classmates as in-training and baby level digimon, including the occasional soother.

"Well? You said that you wanted to talk about something," Riley reminded her lunch companion as they waited for their food to come.

Rika spared her a glance, instead turning her head back to the window. It felt weird to her, after being used to walking or flying everywhere, to suddenly see cars and public transportation again.

"Rika?"

"Ehr…" She muttered, stirring her coke with a straw. Riley just sat back and sipped her coffee, waiting for the other to start. It wasn't until the freshly-baked chocolate croissant had arrived in front of her that Rika began.

"Before he left, Kiken, Takato, told me that he… he cared for me."

Riley sat forward, a small smile on her face. "So, there _was_ that sort of problem…."

Rika blushed but glared at her. "What sort of problem?! There _was_ no problem!"

Riley laughed, motioning for her to continue. Rika did so, after finishing off half of her food. "Well… when we were there… I guess he still remembered something of that, because he… we… oh, never mind."

Riley had already understood what she was trying to say, though. "Ah… so, part of the reason why you don't miss your partner so much is because you miss _him_ more?"

"No!"

Riley just continued to smile, sitting back again and taking a nice, long drink from her coffee mug. "But you care for him, and he cares for you?" When Rika demurely nodded, Riley reached over and patted her hand. "Well, there's nothing to be ashamed of, then, and there's nothing wrong- unless that was also part of the reason why _he_ made you leave?" Riley's voice had dropped to a barely audible whisper for the last part of the sentence.

Rika froze where she sat, not even bothering to nod to confirm it.

"Oh, Rika…."

"It's not like we let it get in the way of anything! If anything, like this we were better able to beat up each other…."

Riley rolled her eyes. "Sometimes it doesn't need to be in the way. It just needs to be there, which means that there might eventually be something more important than your duties. Which, if what I understood was correct, were to the sovereign and the protection of the Southern Quadrant. As long as it is there, there is always room for some suspicion."

Rika frowned, looking up at the elder woman. "Like you and Yamaki?"

A fine dusting of red appeared on Riley's face, before she took another long sip of her coffee. "Well… yes. We've never let anything become of it, but, if you hadn't noticed, neither of us have really gained anything like promotions since we've been working at Hypnos."

Rika nodded, grabbing her croissant again.

"Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

Rika shot her a look, at which Riley laughed. _Yes, she has indeed changed. Rika… we're all so proud of you._

**

* * *

**

"Brother, why did you-"

"Because she was proving to be more of a nuisance than I ever _thought_ she could be!" Zhuqiaomon roared, glaring at the other three sovereigns. "She was distracting him from what his goal should be: re-attaining the ability to biomerge!"

Azulongmon shifted in his clouds, fixing his fire brethren with a fierce stare from all six of his eyes. "You did this because you were worried that he would follow her instead of you!"

"Aye, brother, ye are swimmin' in ther useless jealousy," one of Ebonwumon's heads commented, the other one nodding. "Ye should 'ave realized ther both humans- o' _course_ ther care 'bout the other!"

"Eh? Ye can't jus' say what yer thinkin' wit'out thinkin' 'bout it firs'!" The second head roared at the first.

Baihumon, seeing no help coming from that corner, prowled around the ground just below Zhuqiaomon. "Did you at least offer her the chance to come back?"

Zhuqiaomon bristled. "And _why_ would I do that? She is merely a human- if I wanted a distraction, I could chose any human from wherever I so wish!"

Azulongmon shook his head, trading looks with Baihumon. "Humans, brother, search for a single other person with whom to share their lives. To find this mate might take them most of their lives, and many never do. If she never returns, he will _know_ you did something and turn on _you_."

"And how do you know so much about this? My Quadrant is the only one directly connected to the human world!"

"Yet my Quadrant is connected to the Realm of Light, where these sorts of situations pop up everyday. In fact, I believe there was a rift at one point among the other me's Chosen regarding this very issue. _Humans who love each other should not be separated_."

Baihumon flicked his tail, tapping Ebonwumon on the shell to draw the turtle back into the conversation. "I do not know much about this issue, though apparently one of the human incarnations of the Legendary Warriors from my Realm of Spirits was often focused on the female, and such relationships were often abused by the Warrior of Water, Ranamon."

"B'sides all t'at, we don' need ter 'ave ter Creator of ter Hazard bein' angry or no a' ye. Ter Chaos is goo' an' sealed as'long as ter stays yer 'appy."

"Yeh, that's uroight."

Zhuqiamon stared at his three brothers, twitching his wings. "Fine! If she so wished to come back, she may! However, _he_ better be able to biomerge, or else I will make sure that they have _no_ time to themselves- not even sleep!"

Unable to stand any more grilling, Zhuqiamon gave one powerful downward stroke and launched himself into the air, aiming for his palace. The other three sovereigns watched him go before turning to each other.

"Azulongmon…."

"I know, Baihumon. This, though, might very well be the key to ending our troubles- and we should support it at every chance."

Baihumon nodded, turning around to depart. Ebonwumon looked up at the dragon, considered saying something, but, upon seeing the look on the other's face, he decided to take his leave as well.

**

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**

Rumiko had never been as happy to hear from Rika as she was that morning during her break.

"Oh, my dear Rika! How are you? I'm so sorry- I really wanted- oh yes, of course! No, we're doing- yes, Rika, _we_. Mom wanted to see China, so I thought that this would be a great time to- no, she's actually playing 'Go' at a salon around the corner from here. I'll tell her that you called and wanted to speak with- oh, really?! Well, that's amazing! When do you start? That soon? Then we should send in all your paper work and whatnot to your school…. Of course, I'll take care of it! But that still means, young lady, that you must spend this last week- no, I am entirely serious. Rika- Rika, please, let me explain. Transfer papers require a parent or guardian's signature, otherwise I would have you starting tomorrow! Today, if I could help it! Oh, one second, Rika."

Rumiko turned around to her agent, photographer and publicist, all of whom were standing behind her and wondering when she would be ready for the next part of the shoot.

"I'm glad that you're worried about me, but I'm on the phone with my little girl who I haven't seen in so, so long, so if you don't mind?"

The three slinked away, looking fairly put-off. Rumiko turned back to the phone, making the shooing motion as she saw the photographer turn around again to ask and-or beg her to begin shooting again.

"Sorry, it's those vultures again. Oh, yes! I cannot wait to see you- you'll be back for how long? Oh, goodness! We have to throw a party, and- Rika! Don't you want to see your- oh. Oh dear, that poor boy. And you are…! Rika! I never thought I would see the day that you began looking at men not as stepping stones, but as delicious pieces of- oh, don't you want to hear my analogy? Hm… I guess not all men, then. Well, that just makes Ta- oh, Kiken? Well, that just makes Kiken a lucky guy, if you have eyes only for him! Please, Rika, I'm your mother! If I don't realize or understand these things, who will? …well, that's understandable, considering that I'm all the way over here, but next time, especially if you decide to get married, can you please call me first? Alright, alright! Have fun then, Rika. I love you, and I'll see you in a week. Goodbye!"

As Rumiko hung up the phone, all three who she had sent away before raced over to her, attempting to drag her back to the shooting area.

"Rumiko, please. We need you to start shooting again, or else we might just have to get some other models to take your place," her agent was begging her, nearly on his hands and knees.

Rumiko just rolled her eyes, beginning to understand why Rika had always been so against this work. Since her three-month sabbatical, everyone had been pressuring her to go back to work.

'_I just wish there was a way to keep Rika from this kind of pressure… but she's a strong girl. If having the weight of the world on her shoulders doesn't break her, then nothing ever will!'_

**

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**

Rika was not looking forward to stepping back into the classroom she had been subjected to for countless months after being free of it. She was really not looking forward to seeing everyone again, especially Heiya, Heiya's goons, and her ex-friends Rin and Leighya. She was _really_ not looking forward to the unavoidable questions. She had long ago ceased caring about her work, but knew that she would have to do some serious catching up.

Rika had decided, however, that for the last week of her normal school she would put all her effort into learning, paying attention, and studying. Although she told herself that it was really just because she had begun to care about her work, it was more to avoid having to spend time with people than any worry about her marks.

As she walked into the front office, she felt everyone's eyes on her. The letters from Hypnos and her mother (faxed to her via Hypnos) were clenched tightly in her hand as she waited for the secretary to notice her.

It didn't take long- the crotchety elder woman behind the desk completed whatever paperwork was there and no longer had an excuse to ignore the student before her.

"Yes?"

Rika schooled her face into an emotionless mask, wordlessly handing over the two documents. The secretary looked one of them over, lifting her head to sneer at Rika. "We only accept doctor's notes, _dear_, not parental excuses."

"Then perhaps you should read the second letter," Rika responded, internally hoping that the letters would be rejected and that she would be spared the last week of schooling.

However, luck was not on her side. When the secretary read the letter she immediately took off for the principal's office. Moments later the principal and two vice-principals were near-running into the office, looking between Rika and the letter.

"Ms. Nonaka! Do you really expect us to believe that this letter actually comes from…?!" The principal nearly screamed at her, managing to reign in her emotions at the last moment.

Rika remained impassive, gesturing at the letter. "Well, I believe that's what the phone number on there is for, yes? So that you can confirm it for yourself?"

All four members of the administration glared at her, though the secretary sat down and began dialling the number. "And put it on speakerphone, would you?" One of the vice-principals commanded the other woman, eyes never leaving Rika's.

"_**Good morning and welcome to the SAGA directory. Please clearly state the offices to which you would like to be transferred..."**_

"Hypnos Internal Offices," the secretary spoke aloud, frowning at the letter even as she repeated the words on the page.

"_**Transferring..."**_

Even before the recording finished and the next voice began speaking, Rika was having to hide a grin, knowing to whom she would need to speak- and how to speak to them.

"_Good morning and welcome to the Hypnos internal Offices, Yuzamua speaking."_

"Ms. Yuzamua? Good morning. I am the principal of-"

"_Oh, Kami-sama. Not Nonaka."_

Rika raised an eyebrow at that comment. "Not me what, Yuzamua?"

There was a silence on the other end of the line- Rika had no doubt the woman was wondering just how rude she could be to the Tamer without getting reported. She seemed to came to the same conclusion any sane person would: no matter what she said, Rika would probably _still_ make her life a living hell.

"_I was merely worried that you had gotten yourself into trouble again, Ms. Nonaka."_

The principal and secretary glared at Rika again, although the two vice principals were now looking at their young student with a look of mixed respect, awe, and fear.

"We were calling to make sure that the letter we received was correct in stating that Rika Nonaka has been absent for the last three months due to some classified work she was doing for your organization."

The sigh from the other side was nearly audible, before Yuzamua began speaking again- this time with some bite in her voice. _"Well, she started this 'work' before I was hired here, so you'd need to talk to my boss to confirm anything."_

"Then transfer us!"

Rika rolled her eyes, again anticipating the receptionist's worries. "Just transfer them, Yuzamua. If Yamaki has a conniption fit, you can blame it on me."

A _beep-click-click-clicky-beep_ was all they needed to hear to know that they had been transferred again. The next voice they heard was a rough, tired-sounding masculine voice that seemed to echo- Rika realized that they were probably on speakerphone in the monitoring room.

"_Yamaki, and this better be important."_

Before any of the administration could speak, Rika jumped in with an abnormally perky, happy voice. "Boss-sir! How nice to think you think so highly of me."

There was a pause and a number of fairly obvious fake coughs in the background before Yamaki spoke again. _"Nonaka. Can you not stay away for __**one**__ day? And aren't you supposed to be in school right now?"_

"That's actually why we're calling. Oh, how did you like my report?"

"_Daisy, Shibumi and Dolphin are near-slobbering over some of the things you mentioned, trying to make them work. Thanks to you, we might actually __**know**__ something now."_

Rika stared at what little of the phone was visible before gesturing with her hand for someone else to speak. She knew that the rest of the conversation should only be discussed in a closed area- or at least on a secure line.

"Mr. Yamaki? I am the secretary at-"

"_Yes, that note is authentic. Yes, Nonaka was working with us for the entire three-month period, as well as after school every day for the month or so previous. No, I'm not lying. I expect you to let her back into normal classes for the rest of this week at the very least and not ask any questions, as what we do here is classified information. I also expect you to burn the letter afterwards- and if Nonaka doesn't see you burn it immediately after I hang up the phone or if she has any indication that you might have a copy laying around somewhere I will personally come down there to arrest you. Do we have an understanding?"_

Rika couldn't help the smirk that appeared on her face as she watched those of the administration's. They were stunned, unable to speak as they replayed his threats in their minds.

"I think they get it, Yamaki."

"_Good. I expect to see you back here after your school lets out."_

"Yes sir, Boss-sir."

With that came the tell-tale empty noise of a cut connection, and Rika grinned at her school's administration. "Well? I'm looking forward to seeing the fireworks."

**

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**

Everyone in class 8-A had assumed that Rika, after being absent for so long, had simply dropped out of school. And so, when Rika casually strolled into class, they found themselves staring open-mouthed at the red-haired teen. It was only belatedly that they noticed their teacher had preceded Rika into the room, staring at a note from the office in her hand and mouth continuously repeating the words on it.

It was subtle, but there certainly were some changes. Where Rika once came across as arrogant and cold, she was now self-assured and more aloof than condescending. There was a glimmer in her eyes and a change in the way she carried herself that seemed to scream something wonderful had happened in her life.

Her physical appearance had changed slightly, too- besides the fact that she walked with a perfectly straight back that added an extra inch or so onto her height, her hair was now swept back into a graceful, if somewhat loose, upwards ponytail instead of the tight, severe ninja-style she had previously favoured. She had a bit more color to her skin though she was still fairly pale, and there was the slightest hint of colour on her eyelids.

"We… well, class, please welcome back your classmate after her… absence…." It was fairly obvious that Romani-sensei couldn't get over her shock of whatever was on the note.

Rika noticed that her old seat had been taken, and instead headed for the back of the class, where there was a single empty desk in the corner. Her steps were light and soundless, and she moved with a grace that most people only dreamed of achieving.

She sat down and pulled out her books, ignoring the furtive stares sent her way by her classmates as Romani-sensei turned her back to them and began writing on the board, attempting to immerse herself in the lessons. She gave each of them a slight twist of her lips in a mockery of a smile, though her eyes would narrow and promise pain if they continued to ogle her.

**

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**

Rika had been internally dreading lunch, though she was easily able to keep up the appearance of the 'holier-than-thou' attitude she had adopted when dealing with her teachers or classmates.

Of course, she didn't need to do anything around the teachers. Apparently, word had spread fairly fast that her absence was due to Hypnos and SAGA, and the teachers were quick to look at her with a mix of fear, respect, and envy.

It was her classmates she had to worry about, but break had been no problem. Rika had merely pulled out another book that Riley had given to her for entertainment-slash-learning purposes (as childish as the premise was, Rika was surprised by how much technological techno-babble was included) and proceeded to ignore the world.

Instead of joining the throng in the cafeteria, Rika had instead opted to head straight up to the roof, where she found a corner and happily claimed it as her own, pulling out the book again and her lunch that she, Renamon and Lopmon had made the day before. Consisting of different types of bread that Rika had found the recipes for, the small, spiced and sweetened rolls were deliciously soft and easy to eat.

She had been sitting there for nearly half an hour when heavy footsteps approaching caught her attention, though she didn't move from her position leaning against the fence.

"Well well well… who do we have here?"

Rika didn't even bother to look up, already knowing the three who stood before her.

"Aren't you going to answer us, drop-out?"

Rika calmly put her book down, placing the bun she was eating back into the box besides the small salad. "Heiya, Rin, Leighya. How nice to see you again," and she couldn't keep the venom out of her voice as she said the last two names. Rika had long ago gotten over their betrayal and the hurt it had brought. Now she found the two to be pitiful representations of human beings, especially being so easily swayed.

Heiya sneered down at her, while Rin and Leighya retained their stoic expressions. "At least your manners have improved, drop-out. Tell us, where did you disappear to for three months? No, don't tell me- another world, perhaps?" Heiya snickered, the two behind her joining in with noise, though not with expression.

"Actually, Heiya, I can't say."

The snickering stopped momentarily. "Oh, what? You mean the _aliens_ kept you unconscious the whole time?"

Rika shot her two ex-friends a faintly surprised look, one that Heiya completely missed. She had been under the impression that they had been spreading around what really happened, not something about aliens….

"No, Heiya. I mean that if I were to tell you, I'd have to kill you. Classified matters and all that. I'm sure you understand, considering everything you _must_ hear when your father has his cronies over." Rika's reply was quick and quiet, more to herself than the three cornering her. Based on the sudden chill in the air, apparently Heiya at least heard the comment.

Indeed, the young girl turned a number of different colours, most of them shades of red although a few were pushing purple and blue. "You… you…! How _dare_ you talk to me like that, you _second-class citizen!_"

That comment had Rika freezing- before she internally burst out laughing. Externally, she merely threw Heiya an amused glance, looking up to the sky as though asking for support from the heavens.

"If that's the best insult you can come up with, I'm fairly disappointed. You had _three months_ to work on them! I was expecting so _much_ more from you. I guess I should be used to it, you being below average in everything else…."

Heiya nearly growled at her, and probably did internally. Otherwise, she would have heard the snickers from behind her that were quickly shushed.

"You'll pay for this, Nonaka!"

Rika fought the urge to roll her eyes again, suppressing her laughter at the clichéd line as Heiya stalked back to the stairs and off the roof.

Rin and Leighya stood before her, somewhat awkwardly. They opened their mouths, both shutting them when they realized the others was trying to speak. Finally, Rin was apparently given a silent go-ahead.

"Rika…"

"Stop," and her tone booked no argument. "You betrayed me, stabbed me in the back, and turned even neutral people against me- which was supposed to be hard to do, as they apparently equally hate myself and Heiya. I'm going to assume you had a reason for it and leave it at that."

Leighya stepped forward, her eyes hardening. "You just think _we_ were in the wrong? What about you!? What you did to us?!"

Rika raised an eyebrow. "Last I saw you as my 'friends', you were standing beside Heiya, watching as she beat we with a damn stick she didn't have a couple seconds before that- care to tell me how she got a hold of that certain weapon?"

When neither girl spoke up Rika snorted, putting everything back into her bag and standing up.

"Listen. What you did, why you did that, I don't care. I'm transferring out of here at the end of the week, anyways. In a couple days, I'll probably never see you two again. It's better to leave this at this and just… not talk. Sound good?" Without waiting for an answer, Rika began quickly striding to the stairs, not noticing that in her suppressed anger she had taken on a typical stealth movement that was clearly reminiscent of a fighter- or a ninja.

"Rika, wait!" Rin called out, running forward to grab the other's arm. "I- we're sorry, okay?! We didn't know what to think, just that you crawled into the shed and then things started flying at us- how were we to know that you weren't the one responsible?!"

"We still don't know that she wasn't!" Leighya retorted, grabbing Rin's hand to pull her back.

Rika whirled on them, eyes blazing. "If that was it, then _why_ didn't you just _ask_ me _before_ you decided for yourselves and set about attempting to make my life a living hell?" Here Rika lowered her voice, hissing out her next words. "You were the two people I though I could trust outside of _our_ group, and what do I get for that? I guess this just proves to me that _outsiders_ are nothing but cowardly backstabbers."

Rika turned around again, finishing her trek to the stairs and taking them three at a time, hearing the warning bell ringing somewhere below her.

Rin and Leighya were left staring at the empty doorway, Rika's words echoing in their minds.

**

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**

Yamaki had been wondering whether working with Rumiko to hire a private tutor to work in Hypnos with Rika when she wasn't training was a good idea. Already the young woman spent barely any time interacting with other humans, though he had to admit that her bias against her own race was well-founded.

Even now, as he watched the clock count down the last five minutes until he knew Rika's school let out, ending her public education for possibly forever (regardless of how private a school it was), he had to question his decision. It wasn't just the lack of external influences that a teen usually had to live through- Rika already came from a privileged, if broken, family, and there was always the possibility that having a private tutor on top of everything else might cause her to develop an 'everyone is below me' perspective.

Though, he somehow doubted that.

Regardless of how he looked at it, he felt that Rika was getting an unfair advantage over everyone else, including the other Tamers.

He also knew, however, that it would have little effect on Rika and her outlook on life and the general human population. Besides, if it was any other Tamer, Yamaki had no doubt that they would be in a similar situation. It was just luck of the draw that Rika's data signature had been corrupted in the same pattern as the Hazard tended to corrupt things.

'_Or maybe not luck… but who am I to say anything?'_

Another thing he had to remember was that the other Tamers would almost certainly understand the situation, even if they, perhaps, were a bit jealous.

'_They really are like one family, even if they don't always understand each other or see eye to eye. Maybe Wong or Akiyama wouldn't mind attending this 'private' tutor as well. Just in case something else happens- as it always does.'_

Yamaki folded his fingers together, resting his chin atop them. He stared out his office window at the quickly being rebuilt city of West Shinjuku, watching the cranes moving in the distance and the smoke and dust rising from the few construction sites remaining. The skyline was nearly exactly the same as previously, the occasional skyscraper and office building having been some of the first to be rebuilt.

Unintentionally, Yamaki's eyes wandered over to the park, where his gaze rested as his eyes trailing over the many trees. For some reason, the park was the one thing that was never really touched. The only trouble that had occurred in it (that he knew of) happened in digital fields, and therefore nothing was damaged too much. It had survived every attack so far, even being _avoided_ by the D-Reaper and, oddly enough, the terrorists.

'_I guess we should just be grateful for little miracles… and be prepared to move all our operations into the park at a moments notice.'_

"Sir?"

Yamaki blinked, turning around to look at the figures standing in his doorway. Riley was at the front, Talley behind her. "Yes, Riley, Talley?"

Talley stepped forward slightly, a smile on her face. "Everything is ready, sir. They're here, and we're just waiting on Nonaka."

"Excellent," Yamaki murmured, turning to look out the window again at the panorama before him. He heard his Tech's muffled giggles- he knew he sounded somewhat the characteristic 'evil villian' when he said that, and had primarily done so to help himself get in the mood.

After all, it wasn't every day that Hypnos threw a party for their 'conquering heroes', especially one that would happily see their guts rot and be picked apart by buzzards while they were still alive for even _suggesting_ a party in her name.

Yamaki turned to lead the two Techs back upstairs to the converted meeting and monitoring rooms. As he walked, he prepared both a speech- and his will.

**

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**

**Notes**

**1.** Okay, everyone laugh at me. When I was writing this, I hated having to keep making those stupid scene change things (so that I could go back after uploading and before posting to change them to those bar divider things), so I wrote myself a note:

_**NB:**__ Copy and paste the 'scene' thing above before starting another section!_

C'mon, how many people actually write notes like that to themselves? Am I not so awesomely talented? Beat THAT! …sorry, I'm eating "old fashioned gummy sour bobcats" from Allan Candy of Toronto and those delicious cinnamon hearts. I just had _four_ in my mouth (I thought three was bad…).

BTW, the 'scene' thing looked like this: **---------------------------------------- Scene! -------------------------------------**

Sad, isn't it?


	16. Learning

**_BEFORE WE BEGIN!_**

Yes, even BEFORE the title (that's how important this is)! I would first and foremost like to appologize PROFUSELY TO EVERYONE for, well, not updating. This chapter was actually written near the end of 07/start of 08, and I'm ONLY GETTING AROUND TO POSTING IT NOW because... well, it's a long story. It involves stupid laptops and operating software (I've gone back to XP, because Vista is almost as much of an enemy to me and what little techno skills I have as Mac computers are). It also involves me just generally being stupid and moving files and folders that really _shouldn't_ be moved around, well, around, and some even onto a USB key that I only use maybe... once a year? I FAIL.

I appologize again, and now that I have my folder back where it's SUPPOSED TO BE (and I actually remember that, no, I HAVEN'T finished Running or any of the other chaptered pieces), THERE SHALL BE UPDATES. ...except I'm already stuck with Writer's Block (yes, it deserves capital letters) on Chapter 20 or so. BUT WE SHALL PERSEVERE! I'll try and update at least once a month, but no guarantees. I'm almost done my second year of my University career and am thinking of switching majors and saying "SCREW YOU CON-ED", and if I do it will take muchlies paper work and time. But one update a month will be my goal.

[And at the moment, I'm using this as a catharsis. BECAUSE KHR'S TYL ARC makes me CCCCRRRRYYYY, especially the look on Gokkun's face, oh, HERE: onemanga (dot) com (slash) Katekyo (underscore) Hitman (underscore) Reborn (slash) 137 (slash) 01 (slash). And those sad faces continue on for the next, uh, six pages? Seven? Dunno, until he switches. BUT OMGWTH, WAAAAAAH!!!!! ...and yes, Savers ended and I IMMEDIATELY started on KHR, so I've been waiting for the TYL Arc to finish so we can figure out if... oh, wait, that's spoilers. BUT THE CRACK IS AMUSING, even if TYL is sad as anything, so, um... yes. Enough of a rant. Gah.]

ONTO THE LONG-AWAITED FIC! DON'T KILL ME, PLEASE!

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_**Running**_

**Chapter 16:** Learning

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, besides the few OCs (that I'll probably kill off, anyways) and possibly the plot (but even that is up for grabs).

**Warnings:** No, dearest Takato doesn't go suicidal again. He just gets angry… which is more homicidal, anyways, ne? Um… yeah, not too much else.

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**

Yamaki had been right to assume that Rika would _not_ appreciate the party thrown in her and the other Tamer's honour. She had arrived at the upper floors, expecting to get right into her training and possibly an introduction to her new tutor-slash-professor. She did _not_ expect to find forty-some-odd people waiting on her appearance (especially not when she was still in her school uniform, her armour suit in her school bag).

"Ya. Ma. KI!" Rika growled, rounding on the Hypnos Executive.

Yamaki merely smiled down at her (a rather creepy smile, Rika later reflected), obviously enjoying her discomfort. "Really, Nonaka, and after we spent _so_ long setting everything up…."

"Wika!"

"Rika!"

"Wildcat!"

Rika felt her eye twitching as she looked over at the group of Tamers behind her. Suzie was the first to reach her, wrapping her waist in a strong hug. "Wika!"

Regardless of how she acted, Rika couldn't help but nearly _coo_ at Suzie's face, which was quickly joined by Ai and Mako's smiling, happy faces. "Hey. How have you guys been?"

"We've been good, Miss Rika!" Ai replied, bowing her head slightly before she and Mako helped Suzie glomp the elder Tamer.

Rika allowed each to have a quick embrace before she turned to the other Tamers. "Hey Brainiac, Mr. Perfect, Puppet Girl, Dumb and Dumber. What's with the party?"

Henry shrugged, Jeri smiled and shrugged, Kazu and Kenta shrugged while saying something along the lines of "We dunno", and Ryo-

"Well, Wildcat, we decided that since you're just so… you, that we should throw a party in your honour! As a… a 'We really appreciate what you're doing, especially since it means that we don't have to do it' sort of thing."

Rika wasn't sure whether to be humoured or pound Ryo, and instead settled for a mix.

**BAM**

"Any other reasons?" Rika asked nonchalantly.

"Ow…" Ryo mumbled, holding his head. The rest of the Tamers just sweatdropped, shaking their heads 'no'.

**

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**

The party continued on for long enough that Rika, Ryo, Henry, Jeri and Suzie decided to commandeer two spare rooms in the Open Tower. When Jeri had first mentioned that to Rika, the other girl had been fairly confused, though she didn't show it.

It was only when she found herself walking through some rather strange offices that Rika really began to question exactly what was happening with Hypnos. Jeri was the only one to notice, and was quick to help Rika cover up her uncertainty- three months in another world could do that to a person.

As Henry and Ryo claimed one of the smaller rooms, Rika followed Jeri and Suzie into a second room beside the boy's, where a number of cots were set up and already prepared.

"Jeri…?"

Jeri turned around, tugging Rika into the room and shutting the door, Suzie running over to turn on the lights.

The three flopped down onto one of the cots, Suzie pulling out some snacks she had managed to snatch from the party.

Jeri smiled and took one of the strange-looking bars that Rika had tried to stay away from and began to eat, patting Suzie on the back. Suzie beamed with pride, handing one of those same bars to Rika, who reluctantly took it from the younger girl, offering her a hesitant smile.

"So, Rika…."

The aforementioned Tamer turned her attention back to the ex-Tamer, wondering at her perfectly relaxed state.

"Haven't you been curious as to what has been going on here? I mean, you seemed surprised with all the changes around Hypnos-"

"Like those offices? Heck yes," Rika replied, unconsciously peeling the wrapper off the bar and beginning to nibble on a corner.

Jeri smiled, reaching behind her and handing Suzie a doll. Apparently, the younger girl was used to this distraction and quickly immersed herself in her imaginary world. Sufficiently reassured that Suzie was ignoring them, Jeri turned back to Rika and smiled at Rika's raised eye brow.

"When she listens, she asks a lot of…awkward questions," Jeri explained, searching through the pile of snacks for some genuinely un-healthy foods.

Rika remained silent, only then realizing that she _was_ eating those bars, and found herself staring at the half-eaten bar she held in her hand.

Jeri smiled at her, opening a bag of potato chips, and offered some to Rika. The Shamaness looked between the bar and the chips, and instead chose to continue eating the bar. "Well, just after you left and all that information about the D-Reaper and the… the attack… was coming to light, people began asking where the information was coming from, who was recording it, things like that. The government got scared that people might find out about Hypnos and the Digimon, and so they decided to do this massive cover-up called-"

"SAGA," Rika finished, finally beginning to understand what those idiot office workers had been yelling at her for two days before.

Jeri looked at her questioningly, but Rika just motioned to continue her story. "Yes, SAGA. So, people expected there to be numerous departments in here, and of course they sent officials- even some from the National Defence Force- to check out the story. So, the government and Hypnos had to create some other departments to match up with the story, and- voila!- you have the buildings divided into the 'Open' Tower and the 'Closed' Tower."

Rika was quickly getting it. "The 'Closed' Tower being the main Hypnos Tower and the 'Open' Tower being this one, with the made-up offices-"

"They're not 'made up', not anymore," Jeri was quick to point out. "After the initial worry passed, the central government actually asked for a couple evaluation centres, confidential file storage (though we're not supposed to know that's in here), and a Remote International defence base to be included in here. They don't take up much of the building, and the rest is really just PR and meeting rooms or empty spaces."

Rika gestured at the area around them, including more than just the room they were in. "So, what about this area?"

Jeri shrugged, handing Rika another one of the bars as she finished the first. "Yamaki made sure to keep this area separate. They're even talking about putting in some kind of 'buffer' a couple floors down between this section and the Open offices for whatever reason. I've also heard talk about a skybridge between the Closed Tower and the upper sections of this Tower."

Rika couldn't help but be impressed- a skybridge was expensive and dangerous to build, especially between already existing buildings. However, that wasn't the only thing she was confused about. To make her point, she made a show of looking around the room, absently noticing something and standing to grab Suzie before the younger girl could wander too far away (both older girls could easily recall times when Suzie's inquisitive and imaginative nature had gotten her into trouble).

Jeri smiled and laughed at Rika's not-so-subtle attempt to communicate her next question. "Yamaki told us to set up these cots and whatnot, saying that we should try to make this area as much like 'home' as possible. What do you think he means?"

Rika shook her head, chewing on the bar. She had some idea, though she couldn't even begin to _grasp_ what the Hypnos Exec was planning. But that wasn't the main thing on her mind.

"Jeri, what's in these bars, anyways?"

"Those? Oh, they're just some of those nutritional bars, with supposedly everything a person needs to keep going and boost their energy. Fibre, Iron, Vitamins, Sugars, Nutrients… wheat germ…."

Rika nearly spat out the bar while Jeri and Suzie laughed.

**

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**

Rika couldn't wait to get home the next morning, more than a little worried regarding the state of her home with three digimon and one digi-gnome left unattended for more than seven hours. Normally she wouldn't have worried about it too much, as she could force (and end up helping) said four digital beings clean afterwards.

However, Rika was clueless as to when her mother and grandmother were arriving home from China, besides sometime that day. She wasn't sure how Zhuqiaomon would know whether or not someone else had seen Viximon (or Calumon, Lopmon or the gnome), but she didn't want to know what he would do when she returned.

Needless to say, Rika was one of the first up, ready to head out by the time the digital clock on the wall proclaimed it was 5:30 am. Jeri, Suzie and Ryo were still out of it, and she could only assume that Henry was either still asleep or wandering the halls of Hypnos- no, SAGA- as he wouldn't leave without Suzie.

Rika was able to navigate through the Open Tower fairly easily, as no one was actually there that early. She crossed the lobby to the main entrance for the entire structure and had nearly made it outside the building when the elevator doors _dinged_ and-

"I don't suppose you would mind telling us where you're going so early, Nonaka?"

She turned around with a hint of a scowl on her face to find Yamaki, Riley, Talley, Janyuu and Henry exiting the elevators. As always, she was prepared with some form of excuse:

"If you _must_ know, I was going to get some breakfast." _'Well, it's not a lie. I was just going to get breakfast at home.'_

Yamaki took the time to consider whether she was really lying to him, but Henry didn't bother- Rika was a Tamer, and even if she didn't always tell them the truth (or tell them anything at all) he knew he could trust her. "Okay then… I guess we'll just see you later then?"

Rika nodded, about to turn around again when Janyuu's voice cut her off. "Well, we're going out for breakfast, too. Why don't you join us, Rika?"

She took a second to reign in her emotions: she knew that she couldn't turn them down without offering a better explanation or seeming rude, yet she wanted to get home as quickly as possible to deal with her digimon problem…

'_Ah, what the heck. An extra half hour won't make all that much difference.'_

"Sure. Where are we going?"

Henry smiled, as did most other people in the group. Yamaki huffed, his lips twitching at the corners in a move reminiscent of a smile.

**

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**

Rumiko stood outside the door, Seiko beside her. Their luggage, all four large suitcases, waited patiently on the ground behind them.

"Do you think that Rika will be surprised to see us back so early?" Rumiko asked her mother, reaching into her purse to pull out hey keys.

Seiko 'hmed', reaching behind her to grab one of the bags while Rumiko pushed the door open. "Possibly, Rumiko. But that girl has been through so much I'd be surprised if anything could faze her."

The door opened easily, the two women proceeding inside, their bags slowly making their way into their rooms. Finally, Rumiko and Seiko sat down at the kitchen table, deciding to unpack later. They had been surprised to find that Rika was _not_ home, but a quick call to the Wong's revealed that she, Henry, Suzie, Jeri and Ryo had spent the night at Hypnos.

"So, mom… what do you want for breakfast?" Rumiko asked, picking up the portable phone from its cradle on the side table, already beginning to dial the phone number for a local restaurant.

Seiko shook her head, reaching over to take the phone and put it back in its holder. "How about we just make some miso soup and take a nap, hm?"

Surprisingly, Rumiko looked absolutely delighted at the prospect of cooking. "That sounds delicious! I wonder if Rika will want some later…."

As Rumiko bustled off to start cooking, Seiko took the opportunity to step outside and look at the garden. Walking over to the koi pond she sat down lightly on one of the surrounding rocks, staring into its calm, blue depths. A flicker of light in the corner of her eye made her look up, surprised, but there was nothing to be seen.

'_I wonder what that was...'_ Seiko mused, standing up and making her way back to the house. _'I shouldn't let Rumiko have control of the kitchen… there's no telling what sort of mess she might make...'_

**

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**

Sitting in the branches of the sakura tree beside the pond, they watched Seiko walk calmly back to the house. Calumon shared a laugh with the digi-gnome, waiting until she was gone to jump back into the water. "Wow! Playing hide and seek from Rika's grandma sure is fun!"

The gnome just flopped in the water.

Viximon and Lopmon, who had hidden around the other side of the pond, shook their as they returned to 'sentry' duty, wondering when either of the two women would reappear.

**

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**

They sat around a table outside the actual parlour, alternating between staring at their fellow mall-goers, eating their ice cream, and working on their homework. Rika was quick to scratch out something she had written in her history essay (from where he sat, Henry was pretty sure it had something to do with the atomic bombs and shoving 'something' down Zhuqiaomon's throat). Ryo grumbled, openly staring at the math text he had open in front of him.

"We're in grade eight! How does he expect us to do grade 11 math?!"

Henry shrugged, licking his ice cream as he went over the notes and diagrams he had drawn for physics. "The same way he expects to do everything else- study long and hard."

Rika frowned at him, closing the history text that had been open on her lap. "So, because we start at six and go to one with only one fifteen minute break, he thinks he can teach us everything we need to know and then do work we've never heard about before?"

"Well, you seem to get along well enough with him, Rika," Ryo pointed out, putting his math text on the table and standing up to go order some more ice cream and possibly some drinks.

_Rika found herself glaring at the elder man standing before herself, Henry and Ryo. The man, in turn, glared back at her. Henry and Ryo were slowly, oh-so-subtly edging away from the two, obviously wanting to make a break for the doors._

_In time, however, both the man and Rika smiled, shaking hands, before she sat down in her seat and he turned to the black board that had been rolled into the meeting room turned classroom._

_Henry and Ryo, half-way to the doors, looked at each other, shrugged, and sat down on either side of Rika: they were fairly used to their fellow Tamer's strange behaviour._

"_I am Professor Umizami, and I will be your own, semi-private teacher for the next few weeks, months or- if you want it to continue that long- years…."_

Rika snorted, waving away the memory. "That's because we realized that neither of us hated the other more and therefore everything we did to each other would simply result in a stalemate. I hate his guts- just like I hate every other teacher."

Henry rolled his eyes as Ryo finally took his leave of the table. Rika turned her head to look up at the skylights far above them, shining light down onto the multitude of shoppers who were enjoying either a day off work or a day of skipping work and or school. She leaned back in her chair, ignoring her history essay. Over two weeks had passed since she had been forced to leave by Zhuqiaomon- almost three, she realized with a faint pang of longing.

Rika turned slowly to Henry, watching him work. He was poring over the papers before him, making the occasional note on the page or the note book on his lap. "Henry…"

"Hm?"

"I'm going to be leaving again soon- and I'm not sure if I'm coming back."

He looked up at her, faintly surprised. Then he smiled, taking a moment to finish off his ice cream. "I notice you didn't say 'when'."

Rika frowned at him, batting at his arm with her hand and causing him to make a long, black line right across his notes. He raised an eyebrow at her, but she didn't react further. "Henry-"

"I know you have to go back. We all do, believe it or not. And no one holds it against you. To be honest, if I had the chance to go even for a few seconds to see him, I would take it. We all miss Takato- er, sorry, Kiken- but you have the ability and the opportunity to not only see him, but stay and work with him." Henry smiled at her confused look, reaching over to grip her forearm. "Whenever you go, we'll all be there to send you off, Rika. And we'll always be here to welcome you back."

Rika smiled faintly, gratefully. Ryo walked over then, three ice cream cones, one bubble tea and two pops cradled in his arms. "You know it, Wildcat. Now, would either of you like to help me with this stuff? I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather get the chance to eat and drink my stuff rather than wear it."

Henry laughed while Rika just 'hmed', making it look like she was purposefully trying to humiliate the Digimon King (which, in a way, she was). Ryo mock-frowned, and the three of them quickly got back to work.

**

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**

He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling frustrated with the information before him. He somehow knew that this was supposed to help him with the biomerging thing, but for some reason he couldn't wrap his brain about what would normally be fairly straight-forward sentences.

'_I wonder what Rika's doing...'_

And that was why. _'At least,'_ he often mused, _'with Rika by my side I would know what was happening with her and not feel worried. But like this I have no idea what's happening, or if she's in pain or trouble. And Zhuqiaomon won't tell me anything about where she is or what she's doing.'_

Guilmon was also feeling the effects of the absence of the females, though it was less obvious. His usually bubbly personality would turn into a downwards spiral of depression when he went to call for Renamon to come and play with him and no one answered. The only way Kiken had discovered to keep his partner from moping was to feed him until he was stuffed and fell asleep.

Kiken himself was spacing out more than usual, his over-active imagination creating numerous situations in which Rika was in trouble and needed his help. Of course, he knew he was just being paranoid and over-protective, but it wouldn't be that bad if Zhuqiaomon or any of the Devas even just gave him a _hint_ as to what was happening.

"Kiken!"

He rolled his eyes, turning back to Mihiramon. "Yes?"

Mihiramon frowned at Kiken's reaction- he, and all the remaining Devas, had noticed Kiken and Guilmon's fairly rapid spiral into a state of apathy so advanced that many were questioning if they were even still in there and conscious.

"Are you done yet? You've been staring at that thing for the last three hours."

Kiken looked genuinely surprised. "Really? I didn't think it was that long…."

Apparently there was still hope. "Are you done?"

Kiken smiled- and shook his head. Mihiramon, regardless of his previous thoughts, growled in anger. "_You've been at this for the last three weeks! If Zhuqiaomon doesn't see some results soon, it won't just be __**you**__ on the chopping block!"_

Kiken frowned at that, staring evenly at Mihiramon. Finally, he made his decision.

"Mihiramon… could you please tell Zhuqiaomon that I would like to see him as soon as possible?"

Mihiramon looked surprised by the human's audacity to believe that _he_ could request an audience with the Sovereign, regardless of who he was.

However… _'There's bound to be some nice fireworks, either way.'_

"Alright. Just to make myself clear, I had _nothing_ to do with this. Understood?"

Kiken was smiling again. He nodded, turning back to the screen in the process. Mihiramon shook his head, readying himself to face his master and creator.

**

* * *

**

To be perfectly honest with himself, Zhuqiaomon knew that he should have expected Kiken to start asking questions. He also knew he should have had something planned for when those questions came, something a little more convincing than, "I sent her on a mission and she hasn't returned yet."

Kiken, being Takato, was bound to start asking about the mission, about Rika and Renamon's current status, when they would be back….

Zhuqiaomon had wanted to believe that whatever was between the two humans was just something that being near the other brought on, but even he wasn't blind to the truth. Kiken's skills, especially as a fighter and in strategizing, had begun to deteriorate since the other human had been sent back to her world. Slowly at first, but quicker as time went on. He knew that he would have to acknowledge the truth eventually, but he had never thought it would happen so soon.

"My Lord, the Knight is here to see you," Catsuramon murmured, knowing that the Holy Bird Digimon would hear him, regardless of how quietly he spoke.

"Send him in."

The doors opened slowly, Kiken leading Guilmon and Mihiramon into the room. The tiger Deva took up his position beside his master, leaving the two outsiders to stand before the sovereign alone.

"Well, Kiken?"

Zhuqiaomon noticed with some surprise and pride that Kiken looked right back at him, seemingly fearlessly. "Zhuqiaomon, what would you do if I was unable to biomerge with Guilmon?"

Zhuqiaomon had to take a moment to think about it- he wasn't expecting that question. "Well, nothing. As that is not going to happen, correct?"

The Devas muttered their agreement, no one wanting to think about what would happen if the biomerge didn't.

Kiken, it seemed, didn't like their opinion. "Zhuqiaomon, you can't force me to biomerge by threatening the lives of others! It doesn't work that way!"

"Oh? Do you suddenly remember the way it works now, _Tamer_? Or did your _mate_ happen to have told you everything you could ever possibly need to know about biomerging in that hour or so before you went to bed and she went on her mission?" Zhuqiaomon smirked, thinking he had gotten the upper hand in the conversation by mentioning Rika.

Kiken frowned, not impressed. "Zhuqiaomon, where are Rika and Renamon?"

Ah. So that's where the conversation had been going. The sovereign regained the very little composure he had lost in that moment, staring straight back at Kiken. "On a mission."

"Where?"

"Many different places- wherever their quest leads them."

Kiken simply stared at the Sovereign- he didn't like that answer, either. "Where did they first head off to?"

Zhuqiaomon twitched, though not enough to notice- since when was Kiken so forward? It didn't matter- he didn't have to lie about this. "The Desert Level."

"And after that?"

"_Wherever their quest led them,_" Zhuqiaomon nearly ground out, growing aggravating with Kiken's level of inquiry.

"If you don't know, then, how can you be certain that they are okay?"

"Because I do know where they are."

"Then where are they?"

"I can't say."

"Why? Because you don't know and are just lying to me, or because you just don't want to tell me?"

Zhuqiaomon spread his wings, having finally reached his breaking point. "Do you really want to know, human? They, along with a digi-gnome and Antylamon are in her world- your birth world!"

For some reason, Zhuqiaomon couldn't shake the impression that Kiken wasn't surprised about that, no matter the act he put on or the look on his face.

And indeed, Kiken was putting on quite a convincing act. His eyes were wide with surprise, his hands, previously clenched at his sides, suddenly loose and dangling. His mouth moved similar to that of a fish, and he had to try a few times before he could speak any sort of real words.

"Why… why are they there?"

Zhuqiaomon was somewhat expecting _this_ response, though the note of depression and longing in the other's voice was little too much for him. "Why are you so worried? Do you not think they can't handle themselves?"

Kiken actually _glared_ up at the sovereign, surprising everyone in the room. "It's not if they can or can't handle themselves. From what I remember and have been told- by _everyone_ in this room- people still aren't used to seeing digimon there. Besides that, I can clearly recall you telling Rika and myself that portals to and from this world are dangerous and can be potentially unstable enough to cause serious damage during transit. How do I know if I'll ever get to see her- them- again?!"

Zhuqiaomon was growing frustrated with his newest 'servant's' questions and emotions. "Well, if you don't, you'll just have to deal with it, won't you?!"

Kiken's eyes widened again- before narrowing, darkening to a dangerous shade of blood red. "Yes… I _will_ just have to deal with it."

So saying, he turned on his heal and stalked out of the room, not looking back at his so-called master and fellow servants. Guilmon followed him obediently, trotting to catch up with his Tamer. Mihiramon moved to follow them, but Zhuqiaomon blocked his way with his wing.

"My Lord…" Mihiramon began, glancing after the partners.

Zhuqiamon slammed the doors shut with his wings, turning to address his remaining eleven Devas. "I want no food or water to be sent up to his room and a guard posted at either end of that hallway- he will see the foolishness of challenging a Sovereign!"

**

* * *

  
**

Kiken wasn't impressed with the security- he had decided the moment Zhuqiaomon had confirmed his suspicions about Rika's location that he couldn't just sit back and wait for her return. That was why he and Guilmon each had a bag on their backs of clothing, some food Kiken had stored in his room for when Guilmon was hungry in the middle of the night, a few of the smaller weapons, and camping gear (as described by Rika).

Kiken himself wore the armour he had been given with Guilmon's Ultimate form, surprised by how little sound it made as he walked. Guilmon had been ordered silent by Kiken under the threat of no bread for the next week, and the two quickly and easily made their way out of the Sovereign's palace in the dead of night.

Kiken hadn't been sure when he left the citadel of where he could go. The Hidden Village was off-limits, of course, as that would be one of the first places that Zhuqiaomon would search for him. Even if he wasn't found there, Zhuqiaomon would probably recruit Shar and Shurri to help look for him, as they knew him best.

Kiken paused, turning to look at Guilmon.

"Kikenmon? Are you alright?"

Kiken shook his head, smiling and reaching down to hug the draconic digimon. "Yeah, Guilmon. I'm good. Ready for a trip?"

Guilmon nodded, smiling, as a data stream swept them up.

The moment they landed, Kiken quickly located another data stream, only paying attention to their surroundings to prevent himself or Guilmon from walking into anything unpleasant, or to erase their tracks. Finding another, they jumped into it, uncaring of where it would take them.

This they did numerous times, until- one way or another- they ended up in the Desert Level. Kiken frowned, glancing at the Earth-Sphere to confirm that it was nearly morning- another half hour at the most. He knew a place where they could go for safety- if they could find it. He knew it was dangerous, as Shar had continuously pointed out that night, but Shurri apparently knew some people there, people who were also apparently not on Zhuqiaomon's good side, and would be willing to hide someone like him.

"Guilmon… have you ever heard of a network of caves?"

Guilmon cocked his head, thinking. Something, however, caught his attention. Kiken had to sprint to keep up with his partner, who had suddenly taken off in a seemingly random direction.

"Guilmon! Stop!"

Guilmon did stop- after leading Kiken for a good five minutes to a fairly familiar group of digimon….

"Poyomon?" Kiken asked, somewhat confused by the reasoning for his partner leading him to the ones who had originally saved him.

"Hey! Gogglehead, what about us?!"

"Yeah, a mon would t'ink that youse got no 'preciation for the little guys!"

Kiken blinked but smiled as Guilmon dive-bombed the two digimon who had spoken. "Terriermon! …an Impmon?"

The two were eventually able to extricate themselves from the mass of Poyomon and Guilmon, making their way over to the Tamer. "Hey, Kiken! What are you doing down here? On a mission for Zhuqs?" Terriermon asked, ignoring Impmon's questioning look.

Kiken was about to shake his head when he realized that, even though it would constitute lying, he could pretty easily make the other two assume that he _was_ still working for the sovereign, which would mean easier access to information.

"Hey, you two know where the Black Caves are from here?"

Everyone seemed surprised that he wanted to go there, but Terriermon and Impmon were both quick to confirm they knew how to get- and, what's more, they could get there in ten minutes, max.

"Thanks, guys."

"Hey, no problem. Besides, we have some… business… there, anyways," Impmon replied, hoping up onto Guilmon's shoulder while Terriermon took a position on Kiken's head.

"Onward, Gogglehead! To the Caves!"

**

* * *

  
**

Rika couldn't help but feel the irony of the situation. Here she was, once again, dressed in that horrible armour and about to head back into the digital world. She had only allowed her mother and grandmother to pack her any sort of bag because she bad brought everything back with her the last time, and because she needed somewhere to hide the digimon and the digi-gnome.

She knew that all four digital creatures wanted out as soon as possible, but it was imperative that they remain silent and still until they were in the hole beneath the shed. Of course, knowing Calumon, that was asking for a miracle, so she wanted to rush through her good-byes as quickly as possible.

"Oh, Rika… we'll miss you, sweety!" Rumiko called as Rika walked up the steps, shooting a quick look over her shoulder. She smiled- a very faint, but very real smile- and continued walking.

Henry, Ryo, Yamaki, Riley, Talley, Janyuu, Daisy, Dolphin and Umizami-sensei were waiting for her at the top of the stairs, all of them looking either nervous, or encouraging. "One month sure went fast," Henry commented as the Hypnos workers set about checking all her gear and armour.

Rika nodded, not wanting to speak.

"I expect you to continue with your studies while you are away, young lady," Umizami-sensei warned, giving her a half-smile, half-glare. She returned it in kind, nodding again.

"Hey, Wildcat-"

Before Ryo could say anything more, Rika quickly decked him, not wanting her farewell to be ruined by some stupid comment from Monodramon's Tamer. "I'll see you guys later," She said instead, waving over her shoulder and disappearing into the shed. She heard all of their replies, and wondered how soon 'later' would be.

She was in the hole, just before the digital Gate. Pausing for a moment, she looked into her bag. "Hey, guys… any idea how I'm supposed to get you other three through without your data being corrupted?"

Lopmon cocked his head, Calumon imitating him (for fun). "We are not sure, Rika."

Viximon just returned her Tamer's look- until the digi-gnome began flying quickly around the other two digimon. A faint mist appeared from behind it, quickly covering the Deva and the Catalyst. Lopmon looked slightly uncomfortable while Calumon was clearly enjoying the sensation.

"Whee! More, more! Spinny spinny, round and round! We fly up then hit the ground! Whoa! And now we're dizzy…."

Rika had to stifle her giggles (no, she was NOT giggling, that's just your imagination), and quickly looked towards the digi-gnome which had settled on her shoulder. "Will that let you go through the Gate?"

The gnome nodded, proceeding to nuzzle her cheek. Rika let a gentle smile appear on her face as she thought about heading home, grabbing onto the three digimon and digi-gnome with one hand, they in turn latching onto her. Then she reached forward with her other, letting the oddly-coloured data wash over her, drawing herself and her 'passengers' into the Gate.

**

* * *

  
**

**Notes**

**1.** And another chapter done, most of which I wrote with one hand while eating breakfast (do you know hard it is to do capitals on this laptop? I refuse to use Caps Lock, and the stupid 'Shift' button is only on the left side of the keyboard! As is ctrl, now that I think about it….)

**2.** I wanted to do a bit more with this chapter but, alas, I wrote too much for some scenes, and too little for others. Though my goal was to get Rika back into the Southern Quadrant this chapter, I also wanted her little confrontation with Zhuqiaomon to happen in this chapter as well. Since it didn't work out that way… well, there's part of the next chapter for you!

**3.** I can't really think of any other points right now, so instead I'll just tell everyone to go out, preferably to KikiWai, buy Ayumi Hamasaki, D-A-I and L'ArcEnCiel CDs and please, please, PLEASE find me some MaLoRa manga!

Oh, MaLoRa Matantei Loki Ragnarok (The Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok). Really, really good. Really, really fun. Turns out that Anime Loki is a lot more serious than Manga Loki, but at least Anime Loki plays up his Asgard Playboy title, even in the body of an eight year old. Manga Loki just seems really awkward… yet, very cute.

And that was more of a MaLoRa rant than a digimon rant. Oops.

Ah! Right. I'm planning to do at least one more part to this (why? I don't know….), but I'm not one hundred percent sure on how I want to take this. It's not imperative I know right now, but as things begin to develop a bit more, I'll need to make more decisions. So, I'm probably going to be starting a little contest. If anyone cares about it or wishes to be a beta or just someone for me to bounce ideas off of, please send along a note or mention it in reviews or... well, anything. Thanks for you help (and preferably understanding)!


	17. Collapse

_**Running**_

**Chapter 17:** Collapse

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon or anything to do with the series, except for Volumes 2-4 of the Tamers manga (where the heck can I get Vol. 1?)

**Warnings:** Some swearing (mainly Rika), the usual threats and attacks, erm… some poorly written almost-battle scenes?

**

* * *

**

_**Eleven days prior**_

_It was impossible for him to see who and what was it that sat around the edges of the vaguely circular room. The torches- or whatever normally provided light in the caves- had been extinguished and/or dimmed to the point of being unable to provide illumination. _

_The only exceptions to this were the eyes._

_Countless orbs of different colors- and not just white plus another color, either- stared at him, unblinkingly. Somewhere in that mass hid Terriermon, Impmon and Guilmon, the three of them having escaped when they had been surrounded at the entrance._

"_Human," a voice began speaking, though it was impossible to tell from where, "Why have you entered our sacred home?"_

_He had to stop and think about how to answer the question- and finally went with the truth. "I had no past that I could remember, and so I was trained in the Hidden Village. Then, because I was a human, Zhuqiaomon asked for me to be brought to his citadel. I was trained there, with another human- someone very important to me. The sovereign resented this, and sent her away- on a mission he said to me, but it was exile. I could no longer live under the rule of a tyrant, and wish only for a safe haven away from prying eyes."_

_There were some mutterings in the crowd that were quickly hushed. Finally, the voice spoke again._

"_As long as you do not actively oppose the sovereign, we shall provide you shelter. You will have a probationary period for eight turns of the Earth Sphere, after which it will be decided whether to accept you as a working member of our community. The darkness will then be yours as much as it is ours."_

"_Thank you," he replied, bowing his head though he was sure that no one could see it._

"_You're welcome," many voices replied, some giggling at his propriety. "Though there is no need to bow."_

_As everyone moved away, he remained still, feeling three presences join him as everyone left._

"_To make the darkness mine…" he whispered, holding his hand before his face. He could only see the faintest outline of the appendage. "I'm all for it if it means I won't run into any more walls."_

**

* * *

**

_**Five Days Previous**_

"_Kiken!"_

_The name echoed through the Black Caves, reaching even the most remote areas of the complex. Digimon stopped in their tracks, wondering who was looking for their newly adopted family member._

_Kiken himself frowned, narrowing crimson eyes. Guilmon lifted his head, nose in the air._

"_It's Shurri," the draconic being whispered to his Tamer. Kiken nodded, refusing to reply vocally._

"_Kiken, you jerk! Answer me!"_

"_Kikenmon?" Guilmon asked, wondering what was wrong with his Tamer._

_It was Terriermon who answered him, Impmon departing to go look for Shurri. "Remember, Bread basket, Kiken here took a vow of silence three days ago to prove that he could 'live in the darkness'." He made air-quotes with his ears to emphasize the last few words._

_When Impmon finally brought Shurri to them, Kiken had returned to his meditative state. Shurri raised an eyebrow at the closed eyes and relaxed posture, but smiled at the three other digimon._

"_Let's say we leave our favorite Knight here and go bug some of the elders here, eh? I mean, I guess he doesn't want to hear news about the recent problems outside these caves right now, does he?"_

_While the three digimon left, Kiken simply continued to meditate._

**

* * *

**

_**Three Days Previous**_

"_We, the elder council of the Black Caves of the Desert Level of the Southern Quadrant, hereby officially recognize the Tamer Kiken as a resident of our Caves and, therefore, applicable for any duties we have the need to fill and any privileges afforded to us. Let us welcome him with the Blessing of Darkness!"_

_He wasn't entirely sure what happened, but as the elder's words echoed into a silence, a sudden pressure was against his chest and mind, and everything human in him screamed at him to push it away, get away, don't let it get near…!_

_But there was another part of him- the part that he had always been told to keep locked away, the part that everyone was always so afraid of- that wanted to reach out, accept whatever it was that was trying to take hold of him. Although it felt distinctly non-human, he felt it was something he could still trust._

_Taking a deep breath, he slowly relaxed whatever safeguards were in his mind, letting __**that**__ out and the strange power in. To his surprise, it wasn't so horrible accepting this energy. He felt his senses extended, as though before he could only see or hear or smell or __**sense**__ for maybe ten meters and now, suddenly, he could describe in detail someone picking their nose over a kilometer away...._

_Then it was over. He opened his eyes and, to his surprise, he could see everyone within the room- Guilmon and Terriermon and Impmon and Shurri and so many other digimon and creatures and—_

_And were they __**bowing**__ to him?!_

"_Wha… what are you doing?" He asked slowly, turning around to look at the assembled group._

_Another digimon- one he didn't recognize- stood slowly as though aged and walked over to stand before him. "We are merely showing you the respect you deserve. You are a Tamer- no, not just a Tamer. You Keep the Hazard and, in doing so, you keep us safe from our destruction. The Blessing of Darkness would otherwise not respond to you in the way it did. You are the Southern Knight, protector of all these lands of light and dark and shadow."_

_He blinked confusedly, but saw Shurri's eyes widen in surprise, even as Terriermon and Impmon smirked and Guilmon simply waved at him._

**

* * *

**

_**The Present**_

The rumbling through the caves caught their attention, the stones themselves jumping from their place on the smooth tunnel floors or in nooks and crannies along the curving walls. It was still very subtle, but echoed of a building up of power- power to destroy and crush. In the rest of the Quadrant, that power wouldn't have been so bad, but, surrounded and underneath hundreds of tones of rock and stone….

Kiken whirled on his partner, Impmon and Terriermon off with Shurri tormenting someone. "Guilmon, go find someone. It sounds like there might be a cave-in around here, and someone might get caught in it."

Guilmon didn't leave immediately. "Kikenmon, why are you staying?"

Kiken shrugged, turning away and running down the tunnels. "Go!"

Guilmon ran in the opposite direction, occasionally glancing over his shoulder at his partner's retreating back.

Kiken spun around corners, thanking whatever powers there were that he could see without the aid of torches. He was getting closer to the source of the quakes, he realized, his speed increasing. _'Please don't let there be anyone down here, don't let anyone get hurt....'_

He missed a step, or a stone bounced into his path, or perhaps the ground itself heaved, but Kiken somehow found himself flat on his face, staring at the wall. At a very dark, very empty section of the wall, with a faint point of light somewhere further down it….

As the earth moved, tumbling boulders from the places they occupied for hundreds of years, Kiken took off down the new corridor, eyes trained on the light at the end. He just hoped it wasn't-

"Help!"

Well, he guessed that the man upstairs wasn't listening to his prayers today, as he saw the small forms huddled around the light. He skidded to a stop before them, kneeling down and staring at them.

"Wha…? You're all… you shouldn't be anywhere in these caves!"

The group of in-trainings and rookies stared up at him with baleful eyes, but Kiken immediately softened his shocked and slightly angered expression. "Come with me. There's an earthquake coming, and we need to get to a safe place."

"We won't go with no mean human!" One of the in-trainings yelled, echoed by many of the others.

Kiken growled, startling them. "I don't care if you think I'm mean or evil or cruel, but you're coming with me to a safe spot so that we all don't get crushed by the quake."

"How do you know there's a quake?"

"It's obvious you know about it too, otherwise you wouldn't have been calling for help!"

The group of smaller digimon was silenced by this, before a loud _banging_ and rumble from further down their tunnel drew their attention. Kiken stood to his full height, making his way past the group to see if he couldn't catch a glimpse of whatever was making that noise, whether it was a cave-in or not.

Instead, what caught his attention surprised him and made him wish that he hadn't sent Guilmon away.

A tall, slender digimon made its way down the corridor, its armour covered body clinking slightly. A large shape on the other's right arm was being dragged along the wall, a small ribbon-looking object extending from their body and trailing back through the tunnel behind them. They stopped before they were too close to Kiken and the group of low-level digimon, standing just outside of the ring of light.

"Who are you?" Kiken demanded, his voice low and threatening.

The other laughed. "Oho! A little _human_ decides to stand up to me? Well, how is this for irony? Come, boy- tell me of what you know. My master has always been curious about humans and their connection to this- to these- worlds."

Kiken growled, glaring at the other. "What I know and what I don't doesn't have anything to do with you, trespasser. Now, state your purpose here or _leave_."

The knight- apparently a female- began laughing. "And now you threaten me?! Ah, I guess the humans here _are_ more entertaining than back home! Then let me tell you a little secret, Mr. Brave and Strong. My Master needs aids, and a place from which to control. I think you might make a wonderful little servant for us, boy."

"_Never_."

"Pity. Then I guess I'll just have to leave… good luck with the cave-in, boy. I might like to fight you."

She turned and walked back- but not before thrusting the other end of the long ribbon into the ceiling. Kiken stared at the gold steel, flinching as he saw the cracks forming in the ceiling. Turning to the group behind him, he scooped up as many as he could and began running down the corridor, yelling at those- the rookies, thankfully- who were still behind. "Run!"

He heard the sound of footsteps following him, the pace nowhere near as fast as he was but at least not falling too far behind. They had just reentered the main tunnel as the sound of collapsing rock reached his hearing. Cursing, he tried to see the next turn, the next possible path to get away, but could only see the curving stone walls going in either direction.

"Guilmon… no. No, not like THIS."

The in-trainings jumped out of his arms as one of his fists collided with the wall, sending cracks up and to the ceiling. Again, he punched the wall and, while the others had no clue what he was doing, they began using head-buts and punches and every power at their disposal that would, apparently, help bring down the ceiling on them.

"Back!" Kiken called as a large piece of the ceiling almost fell on their heads. He looked at it from the other side of the tunnel where they had retreated, appraising its size. Nodding, he was barely able to push the stone slab into a leaning position against the remainder of the wall, shoving the others underneath and scrambling in with them as the collapse reached the part of the tunnels where they were.

It was a long time before the ground stopped shaking, Kiken bracing their cover with his back while the digimon worked to keep rocks and rubble out from their hiding place.

The one who had yelled at Kiken earlier gazed up at him, moving over to help support the stone slab. "Is it over?"

Kiken shrugged- or attempted to, wincing at the pain in his right shoulder. "I think so. We should wait for a bit though, to make sure that when we move the rocks nothing else is going to fall on us."

The others nodded in agreement, helping Kiken as much as they could.

Kiken, finally wearing out all his energy, collapsed to his knees. The stone shifted around them, but nothing collapsed or fell. Breathing a sigh of relief, they all collapsed with him.

"When will we get out of here?" asked one- surprisingly, the one who had been providing light for them, a Candlemon.

Kiken sighed, closing his eyes. "Hopefully soon. We need someone on the outside to help move some rubble. Guilmon knew that I was in here, so at the very least we can count on his help- and Terriermon, Impmon, Shurri…."

The others recognized the names. "But they're all rookies, like us- well, except Shurri, but he's _lazy_," one of the digimon- one that Kiken didn't recognize- complained.

Kiken bit his lip, lowering his head. "If… if we can't get out of here within a certain amount of time, Guilmon and the others will go to the Devas for help."

That made everyone stop what they were doing, staring at Kiken as though seeing him for the first time. "The… the Devas? They wouldn't come down here just for us!" A Floramon whispered, fear in her voice.

Kiken, steeling himself, looked up at them slowly. "They would for me."

The entire group froze before backing away from him, looking more scared of him than they did of the Devas. "You… are they looking for you to… to remove you?" The Candlemon, surprisingly brave, asked.

Kiken laughed lowly, closing his eyes, resting his head back against the wall. "No. I used to work with them, but after our dear Sovereign pissed me off, I left." He laughed again, though this time with some humor in his voice. "I bet Zhuqs is having a fit, looking for me."

One of two Gazimon in the group looked at him. "You don't look that powerful to me."

"I'm not… at least, I don't think I am. I just… Guilmon, at least, is powerful. And they apparently need me to make Guilmon stronger," he told them, opening one crimson eye to see their reactions.

"You're a _Tamer_…" the Floramon breathed, looking shocked.

Kiken nodded, and, closing his eye, tried to rest.

When all the digimon with him laid down to rest as well, he opened his eyes again, staring at the rocks. He thought he might know a way to get out, but after what everyone had told him….

'_Might as well try it. I'll take responsibility for whatever happens- well, of course I will. It's not like they're afraid of anyone __**else**__ destroying everything.'_

He closed his eyes, concentrating on that strange feeling deep inside him. Taking a deep breath and standing as much as he could in that tiny space, he concentrated all the power he could into his fist. Compared with what he knew and felt, it was only a small amount, but he was far too weak to harness any more than that.

He took another deep breath, severing the connection he had with the rest of that power, and let swing at one of the 'walls' of their prison, hoping that it would lead him to where Guilmon and the others were.

The resulting shockwave awoke the digimon, all of them staring in surprise at Kiken—and, the long, low, tunnel of _melted_ rock that had somehow been formed.

Kiken nodded, proud of himself, and turned to the others. "Shall we go?"

This time, he had to run after them.

**

* * *

**

"Oof… and another graceful landing, I'm sure," Rika commented dryly, looking around her at the scenery. Renamon, Antylamon, Calumon and the digi-gnome wandered over to help her up from the not-as-big-as-normal crater.

They performed a quick scan of their surroundings, Renamon phasing to a cliff not too far away and Antylamon leaping in the air to scout in the other direction. Rika frowned, though that quickly turned into a smirk. "Well… do I have you to thank for the fact that my stuff isn't scattered over half the digital world?"

The gnome, at who her question was directed, cooed and settled itself on the shoulder strap of her surprisingly still in one piece bag. Renamon and Antylamon reached her at the same time, Calumon- also surprisingly- curled up in the bag, asleep.

"There's no activity to the north and west, Rika," Renamon reported, reaching down to pluck Calumon out of the bag.

"There's some dust east-south-east of here, but it seems to be moving away from here than towards us," Antylamon confirmed, nodding in the appropriate direction.

Rika nodded, thinking about their next move. Spotting a tell-tale shine of pink directly south of them, she smirked, nodding to it. "Alright. Let's go visit our favorite sovereign then, shall we?

…

The Devas were unable to keep their surprise to themselves when they spotted Rika and her companions standing outside the citadel. Cautiously letting them into the palace, Mihiramon, getting over his shock, put aside past differences and walked over to press his nose against the side of her arm, an almost-nuzzle of welcome.

Rika nodded, a faint smile- for once, not a smirk- appearing on her face as the other eleven remaining Devas came to greet them as well.

It was about this time that two things happened, though which came first (if, in fact, one event did precede the other) was questionable. First, Zhuqiaomon made his presence known- very loudly- and caused everyone at the main entrance to the citadel to jump. Second (or perhaps this was what alerted Zhuqiaomon to their presence, instead of the other way around?), Calumon yawned loudly, awakening from his nap and immediately pouncing on the first Deva he saw, seemingly ignoring the sovereign.

"Yay! Pretty doggy Chatsuramon, wanna play tag? Okay! You're it!"

Where exactly he disappeared to after that no one knew, and with Zhuqiaomon's entrance, no one especially cared.

"You--! What do you think you are doing here?!" He roared at Rika, fire jumping off his body and the twelve orbs around his neck burning furiously.

Rika raised an eyebrow, dropping her belongings on the ground and placing her hands on her hips. "What? No welcome back party? Sorry, bird brain, but there's someone I need to see and, even if it doesn't fit in with your plans, I might just have to stay for a while. Now, be a good host and go get Kiken for me, would you?"

Zhuqiaomon, if it was possible, looked angrier than before. "You… you think that you can just come waltzing back here even after I've thrown you out?! This is MY land, human, and your kind isn't welcome here!"

Rika merely levied him a less-than-impressed look.

"I'm sorry… was that supposed to intimidate me?" Everyone stared at her, slack-jawed. She shrugged carelessly, bending down to pick up her bag and turning to walk further into the citadel. "I'm a woman on a mission, Zhuqiaomon, and it happens to involve Kiken. So, unless you're going to call him out here so I can _pound_ him, out of the way. Besides," and she turned around with a sadistic look on her face, "you never said that I couldn't come back."

Zhuqiaomon continued to stare at her and then- of all things- started laughing. Not just chuckling, but full-blown laughter.

"Fine! Go and find your little pet, Shamaness! That is, if you can find him!"

Rika froze, turning around slowly to face the sovereign. "If I can... find… him?"

"Three weeks after you left, he had a temper-tantrum and decided to see if he couldn't find you! No one has seen him- or his partner- since. Let's see if your bond of _love_ can work better than all of my far superior strength!"

No one was entirely sure what happened next but, somehow, what appeared to be a spear appeared in one of Zhuqiaomon's wings, causing the sovereign to stumble and falter in his rant. Rika glared, turning on her heel and walking towards the main entrance to the citadel. "Never use _that_ word around me again, asshole," she hissed, hefting her bag further onto her shoulder.

"Now- I'm going on a search. If any of you want to come or at least help me in some way, be my guest. But any wisecracks about _anything_ to do with Kiken, and you'll be a dead Deva within seconds. Understand?"

All the Devas nodded, and though none of them moved to follow her, Sandiramon was down to the armory and back with a number of weapons clenched in his coils. "Go with our blessssssingssss," he hissed, depositing the weapons into Rika's care. She nodded her thanks, shouldering the quiver of arrows, the bow that could also be a bo, and clipping the small sword-dagger scabbard and belt around her waist.

Just as she, Renamon, the gnome and Antylamon were about to depart, Zhuqiaomon roared again. "Stop there, human!"

She turned around again, one hand set suggestively on the dagger's hilt. "Yes…?" She purposefully drew out the word, easily disturbing a number of the Devas.

Zhuqiaomon glared at her, using his beak to pull the spear from his wing. "You… Mihiramon, go with them. I want reports on your progress every three days, and, should you discover anything about who is causing all this trouble- yes, Shamaness, still- report it back to me immediately."

Rika raised an eyebrow. "And Kiken…?"

Zhuqiaomon glared at her, but lowered his head slowly. "I grant Kiken freedom of movement anywhere within the Southern Quadrant- and you, if you travel beside him." His voice was rough and filled with malice, but Rika was surprised that he was still so lenient towards Kiken. Then again, she wasn't going to comment- or complain.

**

* * *

**

"Who are you? Get back! Your kind is not welcome here!"

"Are you talking to me or the Devas… or the gnome?"

"Be gone, insolent ones!"

"Well, don't I feel loved," Rika muttered, staring at the collection of digimon spread out before her, all of them aiming either weapons or their own attacks at her motley group of travelers.

"Ho! What are you lot doing there?"

Rika blinked, looking over the crowd of digimon to see a familiar form making their way to her. She smirked.

"Well, if it isn't Shar. Haven't seen you in a few months—what, too scared to come visit?"

Shar frowned at her (as much as he could) and shook his head. "There have been problems, Tamer Rika, and all our forces are being used to combat them. As long as they are with you, the Devas are also welcome to our Village."

Rika looked at the scenery, her expression blank. "Okay… where's the Village now?"

Shar chuckled. "Right before you," and he gestured with his hand. Like a curtain had been parted, the Hidden Village swam into view before Rika's eyes. She started, but, keeping an otherwise carefully emotionless countenance, raised an eyebrow.

"That's it?"

Shar fumed. "We are not quite as prosperous, or protected, as the Sovereign."

"Got me there," Rika replied, taking a step forward. A few of the defending digimon took a step forward to stop her, but Shar held them back.

"She is welcome here, as are her companions," Shar told them, then gestured for their visitors to follow him. "First, though, you must meet the Old One."

Rika exchanged glances with the three digimon and one gnome with her, some surprise evident on more than one face.

The Old One's hut was on the edge of the Village, and only differentiated from those around it by a small, blue star atop the door. Shar pushed the door open, the slab of rock spinning on its axis, much like those of Jijimon and Babamon did.

The Old One greeted them, sitting in the shadows of the room and carefully cloaked and hidden.

"Greetings, Tamer Rika, Renamon, Antylamon, Mihiramon—and is that a digi-gnome I see? I have not gazed upon one in the last year!"

The gnome obligingly flew over to the Old One, lighting on his shoulder temporarily before flying back to Rika's side. It giggled, landing on her head and pulling some of her hair down to use like a blanket.

While Rika did not appreciate this, she willingly put up with it, instead kneeling in the traditional seiza style before the Old One. Renamon and Antylamon followed her, while Mihiramon just crouched at the door, too big to enter the hut.

"Old One…."

"You have come looking for Kiken, have you not?"

Rika was taken aback, but nodded. "Yes, Old One. Do you know where he is?"

"I am sorry, but I do not. Shurri, however, left some days ago to find him, and has not yet left the Desert Level. Beyond that, however, I cannot say for certain where he would be."

Rika nodded. "Thank you for that much, at least."

"Any of the Tamers, but especially Kiken and you, Tamer Rika, are more than welcome her at any time."

Rika bit her lip. "Speaking of that… how come you know my name, but didn't know Takato's?"

"Takato? You mean Kiken, I see." He shuffled forward, the dirty grey cloak looking even dirtier in the pale light. "After we found him and began training him, we, of course, took an interest in humans, especially the Tamers. There are many digimon who have heard rumors at least, and it did not take long before we found out who the Tamers are and what you have done for us."

Rika blinked and looked away, embarrassed at the reverence in the Old One's voice. It was hard to tell, but Renamon thought that, perhaps her Tamer was even blushing a bit. "I… you don't need to treat me, or any of us, like we're special. We're just Tamers, and we just do what… what needs to be done. Anyone would have done the same, if they could have."

"But not anyone _can_ do what you and your partner and your fellow Tamers can do," the Old One retorted, "and that makes you all the more special. Therefore, as long as you are in the Desert Level, this Village, and all its resources are yours to be used."

"Eh? Ah… thank you."

"Now, perhaps we should find some shelter for you, hm? Now, where's an empty hut… ah! You can use the one that Kiken and Shurri used to share! With Kiken living in the Citadel—well, right now missing—and Shurri off looking for him, it's empty. Please, use it with our best wishes. Shar? Would you mind showing them where it is?"

Rika led the others out of the hut, Mihiramon huffing. "They should have huts here that fit Devas."

"They do," Antylamon replied, "just not ones as big as you."

Mihiramon didn't look happy but couldn't deny that fact. Instead, he turned to Rika, Shar and the Old One, who had come to the door. "I must go and report that our base of operations here will be from this Village."

"If you tell birdie where there is…." Rika threatened, frowning at the tiger Deva.

"I would _never_ betray a fellow digimon so easily, human," Mihiramon spat, turning around and running out of the village.

Rika sighed, turning back to Shar. "Well? Where are we staying?"

…

'_This… is kind of strange….'_ Rika mused to herself, turning over in the bed she had appropriated for the night. The hut they had been given as their own was small, obviously meant for not more than two or three smaller digimon, but comfortable all the same. The redhead glanced at the gnome, sleeping on her pillow, and the sight of her partner and Antylamon lounging half against the walls, half lying on the floor, brought a smile to her face. Of course they were worn out, and she should be too, especially after earlier.

Once they had been shown to the residence, Shar had brought them out to a clearing in the middle of the Village where everyone was seated around a fire, night having just fallen. Food and drink were being passed around, music was playing, digimon were dancing and talking and singing and laughing….

Rika couldn't fight the smile that appeared on her face as she joined in the celebration. What this party was for, she had no idea, but enjoyed every minute of it. The digi-gnome especially had a great time, and the villagers were able to get even Antylamon and Renamon to join in the dances and games. Rika, though being asked, carefully stayed away from the karaoke.

Bed time was late, later than anyone was used to. Rika didn't want to consider how late, or perhaps early, it was. Shar had taken them back to their hut, and pulled out a futon.

"Rika," said he, obviously feeling somewhat awkward about naming her without the title, "unfortunately, the only bed we have in the village is Kiken's old one, as none of us digimon like, or need, to use one. You don't—"

"No, I don't mind," Rika said quickly, grabbing the folded up futon from his arms before he could accidentally slice part of it open with the shurikens that were his hands. "We'll be just fine, thank you, Shar."

"If you need anything, I'm right next door."

They had settled down to sleep then, the serenity of the Village washing over them. That was, of course, how Rika had ended up in her particular situation.

At first, the futon had just been a bed, somewhere to sleep. Then it registered that it had been Takato's—Kiken's—bed. She knew that if someone had slept in _her_ bed, she wouldn't be too happy about it, but this was Kiken, who was Takato, and—argh! This is where her mind became twisted around. Things she was used to with Takato she attributed to Kiken, even if he didn't do those things or act that way, and now vice-versa.

She was confused, sometimes, and did not like it. She focused back on her original train of thought. _'This is… is Gogglehead's bed. Kinda weird, sleeping in bed… especially without him in it…. I did NOT just think that. Hm… I wonder….'_

From what she had seen of him since they had met up in the Citadel, Rika knew that he must have gone through some fairly intense training. Also, she had her suspicions that digimon did not know how to do laundry (well, she was pretty sure they didn't, but, considering these were digimon and the Digital World she was thinking about, she couldn't say 100 percent either way).

Ducking under the covers, she pulled the sheet above her to her face and—_'Yep, smells like Gogglehead.'_ While normally she would have been disgusted by this, there was just something about the situation that made her feel different. Her gut clenched, she began to sweat, her hands were a bit clammy, and a strange mixture of nerves, adrenaline, and excitement built up in her.

'_I'm actually sleeping in Gogglehead's bed. I… this is too weird….'_

She felt like she was a child, stealing a cookie from the cookie jar, afraid she was going to be caught. At the same time, though, it was as though she was at the top of the first, highest, hill on a roller coaster, and just about to start the descent….

It briefly crossed her mind how feeling so guilty could, at the same time, be so exhilarating, but she pushed those thoughts aside. Snuggling further under the covers, she turned her face into her pillow, breathing in the fresh clear scent that always made her think of bakeries, cinnamon, almonds and pine; a scent that was unmistakably Takato.

As she grew used to the fact that she was sleeping in his bed, her eyes began to droop, and she feel asleep.

**

* * *

**

Everything was eerily silent, the only sound his own breathing. He eyed the darkness before him, about to say something, if only to break the silence. "I—!"

"Sir!"

Jolting him awake was the voice of a BlackGatomon right by his head, the small champion barely stopping before careening into him.

"What is it, BlackGatomon?"

"The Council wishes to see you!"

"Alright… I don't suppose you know where they are, do you?"

BlackGatomon, one of the few digimon capable of going ultimate (though she was rarely ever seen as LadyDevimon) grinned at him and gestured for him to follow her. "Right this way, Sir Knight!"

"And what have I said about calling me that?" He asked as he fell into step behind her.

She shrugged her shoulders, as much as she could while on all fours, and continued her fast pace. "Not to. The only other option is 'Sir Tamer', so I think 'sir' is a fine compromise."

"You could just call me Kiken."

"Too informal."

Kiken groaned, running his hand through his hair. "Don't I get to decide if it's too informal?"

"Not in this case you don't. Here- we're here."

He blinked, looking at the opening beside him. "Really? Thanks, BG."

She smirked, leaping into his arms and nuzzling his neck. "No problem, sir. Just call us if you need any help!"

BlackGatomon quickly disappeared around the next corner, leaving Kiken to the Council. He stepped inside what he assumed was a room, and was immediately surprised. First of all—there was actual light in that room. Torches flickered along the walls, but he didn't feel the normal pain of letting his eyes adjust. Guilmon, Impmon, Terriermon, and Shurri were four of the many digimon gathered in the fairly small room, all of them ranged in a circle around the perimeter. In the middle was a medium sized dinosaur digimon, one that he faintly recognized as having met before- a DarkLizamon.

The champion looked stunned to see him there, but then bowed to him. "Tamer… thank you for trying to defend me, and I am sorry for what pain I have caused you."

Kiken blinked, not wanting to take a step back, but having no idea what the other digimon was talking about. "Eh? Erm… it's… no problem?"

"You are too kind," DarkLizamon commented, still bowed.

One of the Council members, though Kiken couldn't tell which one had spoken, called them to attention. "DarkLizamon brings some disturbing news for you, our General."

Kiken tilted his head (still trying to figure out how he had earned himself that title, anyways), and turned all his attention back to the dark champion before him. "DarkLizamon? What is it?"

"Do you know of the strange events that have been occurring throughout the levels recently, Tamer?"

Kiken nodded, stepping forward so that he stood alongside DarkLizamon. "I do. What is it?"

"These are not just separate, isolated incidents. Someone is attacking, and in a pattern, for a purpose. We believe that that cave-in the other day was another example of these attacks."

Kiken nodded, remembering the strange knight he had met. "That I'll believe."

"We believe we have located the intended target of the next attack."

"Well, that's goo—what?!"

DarkLizamon looked surprised at his outburst, but nodded. "Yes. Myself and those who travel with me have been following these incidents as they happen. Tamer, General, we wish you to come with us and see if you cannot stop these digimon!"

Kiken couldn't help but blink a few times, letting what DarkLizamon said sink in. Finally, he turned to his partner and those he called his friends. Guilmon cocked his head, Impmon began playing with a fireball with a fairly evil-looking smirk on his face, Shurri reached behind him to check on the large shuriken throwing star that was strapped there. The same BlackGatomon who had led him to the Council room nodded her head, standing and stretching, while Terriermon gave him a thumbs up.

"We're with you, whatever you decide to do, Gogglehead!"

Kiken smiled, closing his eyes as he turned back to DarkLizamon and the Council. "Well, it's not like I would let myself have a choice in this matter…." Opening his eyes, he fixed DarkLizamon with a cool, easy smile. "DarkLizamon? Lead the way."

**

* * *

**

Rika had been planning on scouting out the area around the Village first, progressively making their way further and further out until it would be impossible for them to return to the Village at night and would need to camp out. Renamon and Antylamon had agreed with her plan, and Shar and the Old One agreed to pass on the plan to Mihiramon, whenever the tiger returned.

It was nearing midday, and the four compatriots had taken a break after circling the Village over ten times since morning. Biting her lips, Rika shook her head. "He wouldn't be so close to the Village and not visit," she told Renamon and Antylamon, the gnome acting very Calumon-like and playing with a pink data sphere like a ball. Rika shook her head at the sight, continuing, "I think we should do a few more rounds before we head back, see if the villagers need any help—you know, as payment for letting us stay here," she growled, cutting off Antylamon's comment. "Then tomorrow we should start further out."

"Understood, Rika," Renamon replied for both digimon, Antylamon nodding.

"You know young Kiken better than any of us, Rika," Antylamon told her, "If that is what you think he would do, we will follow you."

Rika bit her lip, looking away from the Tamed Deva. If she knew Kiken, knew Takato, half as well as she once thought she did, they wouldn't have been in this situation in the first place. Ignoring that thought (and instead trying to block out her reminiscing about how comfortable she was the night before), Rika stood up.

"Alright then. Let's start again."

As the other two digimon got to their feet and the gnome came to reclaim its place on Rika's shoulder, Renamon froze, staring back at where the Village was, hidden now behind a sand dune and a rock formation instead of the barrier. The vulpine's ears twitched, eyes narrowing. "Rika…"

"What is it, Renamon?"

She didn't say anything, and instead Antylamon leaped to the top of the rock form, gazing out at the Village. He gasped, a sound audible even to Rika's ears so far below, and took a flying leap, bringing him back down to the ground.

"Rika, Renamon! We must go back, now!"

"What?" Rika blinked, questioning it even as Renamon scooped her up in her arms and shifted up to the top of the rock form, Antylamon joining them momentarily. The gnome took one look at the scene before them and tried to scramble down Rika's shirt or into one of her pockets, attempting to hide.

Antylamon and Renamon eyed the panorama with considering, if confused, gazes, taking in what information they could, not wanting to leap without looking—in this case, quite literally. Neither made a move once they had looked their fill, though. Both waited with baited breath for Rika's decision.

The young Tamer stared openly at the landscape before her, shock one of the most evident emotions on her face. Her eyes narrowed, lips thinned—this wasn't the new, not necessarily nice and fluffy but kinder Rika that she had become since first meeting with the rest of the Tamers. This was the full-blown Digimon Ice Queen personality in full force: kill or be killed, where fleeing is no option. Not because she wanted power, but because she could hear the screams.

"Renamon? Antylamon? Let's say we go crash their party."

They immediately began making their way towards the Village, now seemingly only a pillar of fire and smoke on the horizon.

**

* * *

**

**Notes**

1) I can guarantee that someone is going to kill me. If you're wondering why I'm typing that, it's because that I didn't want to post the next chapter (it might be 15) until I finished writing this, and I couldn't get this chapter to end the way I wanted it to for the longest time… actually, I couldn't get some of the middle sections to work out right, either. I'm still not one hundred percent okay with the ploy I used to get Calumon out of the picture for a bit, but, as much as I love writing the little guy, he would just get in the way of the next couple scenes and chapters.

2) Um…. Yeah, not sure what I was going to write here. Well, I now am onto exams, so I guess that means I should probably be studying (why me?!). Don't know how fast I'll finish this thing up.

3) Speaking of finishing it up, I've made a decision that's… somewhat annoyed me. Kind of. Well, not really, as it's entirely my choice, but… eh, meh. Alright, I have a continuation planned for this, always have, but based on my current 'updating' speed and the million other things going on with my life right now, I might not be able to work on the sequel for a while. SO, I'm doing two endings. The first will be able to finish this off all pretty and nice… kind of, while the second ending will be the one that leads into what else I have planned. The new ending (the one that is the actual owari, not just fin), has only recently begun the planning stages, but I have a while… sort of… until I get there.

Each 'ending' is going to be like… like… like the endings from Drakengard 2: exactly the same, up until a given point, at which time they'll branch off into slightly different directions, each direction using at least one or two chapters, maybe more. The way I have it set up right now is that where the one (the second ending) just ends, the other (the new, or first, ending) goes on for a bit longer, though I might very well change things BEFORE that, which would mean more chapters on both sides…. Eh, you get my point.

Sorry again for the long update time!

**Edit: NEW**

Although the above notes still stand, I'm embarking on a new phase to this story. Specifically, a minor rewrite of the first eight or nine chapters (possibly more). In order to facilitate both the rewrite and the double ending, I've started something called a "Running Sounding Board" over at my livejournal. Rewritten chapters and possible plots ideas will be posted over there for your consideration. Once the 'final' version of the rewrite is completed at my livejournal, it will then be posted here.

Also posted over there will be the initial versions of any new fiction that I write, whether it be for digimon or otherwise, as well as pieces that have yet to--and probably never will--make it onto my fanfiction account.

If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to ask for your time in popping over there to look things over. Everything regarding digimon will be tagged with 'digimon' and everything regarding the Running Rewrite and possible continuation will be tagged with 'sounding board'. (On my livejournal, there's a list of all my tags in alphabetical order on the left hand side near the top. At the moment, the two tags in question are in fairly small font, but as more entries are added they should become more visible.)

Thanks again for your patience with my horrid updating speed, and thanks in advance for your support!

My livejournal is: mecomptane. livejournal. com (take out the spaces). There will also be a link in my profile near the top.


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